ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
GRATEFUL
Astoria BY SABRINA MOSCOLA
“I started becoming really passionate
about the power of
gratitude and I started to
change a lot … even though
nothing changes, just our perception,”
Droseros said. “I had
the idea to make a gratitude
journal with the artwork I was making at
the time. I didn't know what I was going
to do with it, but for the first time in my
life, my heart told me to do something. It
just felt right.”
It took Droseros about a year to put
together his company, appropriately
named Grateful Peoples.
In the beginning, he walked around to
local shops, asking to leave a journal out
for customers to write down what they
were grateful for. He called this the Good
Vibes Project, and it has since gone national.
As books fill up, Droseros collects
them and reads the beautiful sentiments
people have added. Overall, the two
most common things people are grateful
for are family and the sun. In a digital
16 AUGUST 2 0 1 8
heavy world, it’s nice to know that sweet
simplicity still brings people joy.
What’s the biggest source of gratitude
in Astoria? You guessed it – our endearing
neighborhood.
Grateful Peoples has flourished into
a multifaceted foundation. Droseros’
gratitude journals are sold online and at
retailers around the country. Droseros
even expanded the Good Vibes Project
into schools, and he hopes to bring it into
prisons one day.
He reflected on how working with the
education system came about:
“I remember thinking, ‘I was in my midtwenties
when I started doing this. What
if I was 10 or 15 and someone told me
the idea of writing down what I’m grateful
for? Where would I be today? Where
would my mind be at today? How much
would I have grown?’”
The pilot program included 25 students
at a school in Brooklyn and expanded to
1,200 the following year. Teachers give
students time each morning to write down
what they’re grateful for. At the end of each
academic year, Droseros visits the students
to see their progress, amazed at the newfound
hope that is instilled in the kids, some
of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds.
There are currently 4,000 students
signed up for the upcoming school year.
One way this project is made possible is
through the Buy One Share One initiative,
bringing mindfulness to both workplace
and classroom. For every journal a corporation
buys for an employee, a journal is
donated to a child in the classroom.
@SABRINAMARIENYC
@SABRINAMARIENYC
Three years ago, Astoria resident Teddy Droseros
stumbled upon an article about gratitude and started
writing down what he was grateful for every night before
bed. He noticed that it changed his reaction to things
and helped him focus on the good in situations.
Photo by Rachel Schimenti