Metro Editors Share What They're Thankful For In 2021

2021—it almost felt like an extension of the devastating year that was 2020. Months rolled by like a blur, and with varying levels of quarantine due to an on-going global pandemic, it was surely not easy for anyone to get through.

But today, on the 25th of November, when Thanksgiving is celebrated, the Metro Editors come together to express our gratitude for all that was—the good and the bad, the amazing, and how we plan to take our thanksgiving to help fuel our hope for what lies ahead. Read on, get inspired, and think about your own thanksgiving items for 2021. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Raul Manzano, Metro Society Editor-in-Chief

"I’m so thankful for my faith and the strength it gives me in my challenges and the way my beliefs shape how I see the world and how I value my family. I’m so thankful for my relationship with our Lord."

Lala Ventura, Metro Channel Head

"This 2021, what I am most grateful for is good health and the opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends despite the pandemic. I am also grateful for the pause and reflection this global crisis has put upon us. It has served as a strong reminder that life is a gift and should be lived as meaningfully as possible."

Geolette Esguerra, Metro.Style Editor-in-Chief

"Thankful for a lot of things—for the the joy of community, for the love of family, and for the inspiration we get daily which we are so lucky to write about in Metro.Style. I’m also thankful that I am able to learn so much about Asian culture through architecture, urban design, and psychology, through the lens of artistic work and aesthetics. I am blessed with the knowledge of astrology as it helps me navigate and understand the day-to-day and the big picture. I am grateful that when I want to write, my hands cannot keep up with my mind, and it all just overflows. I am thankful that I have a beautiful family, my husband, my son, our merged families. I am also grateful for having such a wonderful team who makes me inspired to work every single day and that we can make a difference in other people’s lives through our platforms."

Grace Libero, Metro.Style People Editor

"Despite just being at home for the most part of 2021, there are still several things I'm grateful for. First and foremost, my family and I survived this year safe and healthy. Last year, I couldn't see my parents and my sibling because the pandemic was at its peak. But this year, thankfully, with safety precautions observed, I was able to reunite with them to celebrate my father's 60th birthday. Secondly, I have work and that's truly a blessing during these trying times. Lastly, my relationships with my husband and my 4-year-old son are strengthened by all the time we got to spend with each other at home. Homeschooling my toddler is not easy, but looking at the brighter side of things, it made us closer. I know that each and every virtual class I help him with is precious, because that's something I may not be able to do anymore when the global health situation is back to normal."

Randz Manucom, Metro.Style Fashion Editor

"I wish there was a specific thing for me but I always find myself simply grateful for the ‘now.’ It’s living in the gift that is today that I began truly appreciating this year. What I have today, what emotions I feel today, who I have with me today, these are the moments I live by day by day. And with this mindset I’ve found myself having many happy days that I’m able to share those around me. Having to let others share in your happy days, that to me is worth being thankful for."

Justin Convento, Metro.Style Culture Editor

"This was honestly a very difficult question for me to mull over at first, given that this year was really a tough one for me in my heart and spirit. But when I think of the good things that came from this year, I think of how I’m able to really begin to truly see things as they are, as beautiful and fleeting moments in our lives can be, and to cherish them as these moments come. I stopped worrying too much about the future or staying too long in moments from the past, and began to more consciously live in the present and enjoy life as simple yet wholeheartedly meaningful it is, every single day.

I also really began to give deeper meaning to the term “self-care”—not just treating myself to things I like or enjoy–but really putting me first in the day and giving myself that alone time to recharge and recuperate. I had spent the first year of the pandemic busy trying to make sense of things, trying to enjoy whatever I could despite being “stuck at home”, resting little, and not being truly happy most of the time. And I’ve since spent the majority of the second year learning what it truly means to enjoy this life, in its big and small moments, and slowly be more comfortable with who I am underneath all the things that I do and who I am to other people. It will forever be a work in progress, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction for my mental health and overall well-being—and I’m so truly grateful I got here."

Anna Rosete, Metro.Style Living Editor

"Gratitude is divine emotion. It fills the heart but not to bursting, it warms it, but not to fever." - Charlotte Brontë

"This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the very simple things in life: family, friends, relationships, a wonderful support system that has helped me through some of the most trying times in my life these pandemic years. I am also thankful for activity: long walks, getting up in the morning, telling stories through Metro.Style, and growing crops in the farm... all life affirming things that are blessings."

Troy Barrios, Metro.Style Food Editor

"2021 has been tough, but when I sat down to think it over, I'm surprised to realize that there were so many reasons to be thankful for this year: family and friends, a home with enough space that I don't feel claustrophobic in quarantine, my work. Most of all, I'm thankful for how far I feel I've come this year. Living through a pandemic just puts things in perspective and it forced me to tweak my life, learn new skills, and focus on the values that I want to live by now."

Kate Paras-Santiago, Metro.Style Beauty & Wellness Editor

"What started out to be one of the most trying years of my life has turned out to be one of God's best years for me. By no means was it a walk in the park—I've had my toughest challenges in 2021, but by His grace, I am progressing to be the person He wants me to be. I would not be the person I am today had He not allowed me to experience the pain and suffering I did this year. He held me through it all.

I am grateful for every waking morning, for the oatmeal and fruits I have every day, for being in close proximity to my husband daily, for the sun, and walking outside whenever I want to, for protection from sickness, for technology so I can constantly be in touch with my family despite the distance, for a job I absolutely love, for all the people I met and have re-connected with in 2021. For every breath I take, I am grateful to my Lord, and I want to live each day remembering how good He has and will continue to be."