november nine

30 Days of Thanks - Day Nine

Bez

I am thankful for my best friend. I am thankful for all the ways she accepts me for exactly who I am. I am thankful that I don't ever have to fear her running away from our friendship. I am thankful that she is my roommate and I get to come home to her joy and laughter every day. I am thankful that she is one of the greatest people I have ever met in my life and she brings so much happiness, optimism and peace to my life.

I can't imagine where in this world I would be if she hadn't come into my life a few years ago. I am so often thankful for everything she does for me from helping me keep my sanity, to dealing with my meltdowns, to being my anchor and my person and the yang to my yin and the Woody to my Buzz and the DOB to my Posey. We are the same but so very different and there is no one else in this world I would want to share this crazy, hectic, surprising adventure of my current life with.

There are no two quite like us.

november eight

30 Days of Thanks- Days Eight

Sister

Being given someone in this world who can share my youth with me is the greatest gift I could have ever been given.  Growing up my sister and I were enemies and best friends. She annoyed me. She drove me crazy. I couldn't stand her. I loved her. As we got older, she became my best friend. I realized that no one in the world would never be able to understand my life better than the only other person in this world who lived the same life as me. I love having someone who knows exactly what it's like in our family. I love being weird with her and knowing that there is nothing in the world that will ever change our relationship. She will be my sister for my entire life. She can never leave. Our bond is forever and always. She is the only thing in this world I feel I need to protect. She is my favorite thing and I love her more than any words in this world will ever be able to express.

november seven

30 Days of Thanks- Day Seven

Laughter

Laughter is my favorite feeling in the entire world. I cannot imagine what life would be like without laughter, without the feeling in your stomach of relief and joy and exuberance. That feeling is the greatest thing in the world. Laughing can cure any mood. It can change a day or a moment instantly. Not only can laughter change your own mood but it has the power to change someone elses.

november seven

30 Days of Thanks- Day Seven

Sunrises and Sunsets

Sunrises and sunsets are not only spectacularly beautiful but they are a constant reminder to me that no matter how wonderful or terrible my day may have been, with every sunset I can put that day to rest and with every sunrise, I get the opportunity to start brand new. It is optimistic and beautiful- rarely are things in life such as a beautiful sunrise or sunset truly appreciated. I don't think I ever truly appreciated them until I sat at the top of a dormant volcano and watched the sunset breathlessly over and beneath a blanket of clouds. It was the most silent and serene experience of my life. It reminded me of everything that was rotating in our world and everything that was monumental and beautiful.

november six

30 Days of Thanks- Day Six

Weekends

Weekends- the time when I am free to do whatever I want.

 I have no commitments to work. I have no commitments to being anywhere. Saturdays are my favorite days. I love sitting in my living room binge watching TV. I love when I get to spend useless weekends with my roommate doing pointless stuff. I love having time to myself to do crafts and projects that I can't accomplish during the week.  Weekends are my time. Weekends recharge. Weekends bring smiles. Weekends are my favorite part of the week.

Reasons I am thankful for weekends:

- I don't have to go to work

- I can do whatever I want

- Sometimes I get to see my friends

- I get to wear whatever I want

- It is two whole days I don't have to think about my job or my commitments

november five

30 Days of Thanks- Day Five

America

There are 7 billion people in this world. There are roughly 200 countries in this world. I could have been born anywhere. I could have been born in any country. Instead I am American. I think I take it for granted every day that I was born in such an advanced country that is so free. Often we look at our lives and think we are so restricted by our government but in relation to the rest of the world, we are incredibly blessed. We have freedoms some countries couldn't dream of. We are envied by so many just because of where we were born- a factor most cannot control. I love America. I love supporting my country in all its successes. I love my country.

I am thankful for:

- those who fight for my freedom that I often take for granted

- the red white and blue

-  all of the choices I was given simply due to where I was born

november four

30 Days of Thanks- Day Four

Modern Technology

It is both a blessing and curse but I can't imagine what my life would be like without the technology I have today. I have spent a lot of time in recent years deciding just how important technology is to me, but when I think about the monumental impact technology has made on the world, I am blown away. I like to look back at my grandparents youth and think of all the things they didn't have and then fast forward to their adulthood.  The world has changed so drastically and they have seen a world transformed within just the span of their lifetime. I am baffled by how the world has changed in my short life, I can't imagine the world I will see when I am older. I am blessed to live in a time of convenience and technology but I still always hold close to my heart that much simpler time.

november three

30 Days of Thanks- Day Three

Friends

They come and they go but they are always there. That's how I like to view friendship. Some friendships are stronger than others. Some last a short while and some, I have recently learned, can be committed to lasting a lifetime. It's friends in this life that make the ride worthwhile. They are the ones who are around when you have the greatest days of your life. They are the ones who are around to help you pick up all the pieces on your worst. They are your source of joy, laughter, heartache and growth. Friends are our lifeblood, our cornerstones and our stepping stones. Everybody's got 'em, mine are just exceptionally spectacular.

Reasons I am thankful for friendships:

- they always have something to teach you

- they always make you laugh

- they can change any day from bad to good

- they are essential to every human being

november two

30 Days of Thanks- Day Two

My Education

I grew up the daughter of a teacher and an accountant. I was never quite sure which parent was more strict about my education, my mother or my father. Over time, I realized that they valued it for different reasons. My mom was feeding her teacher and nurturer instinct in wanting me to succeed and be as brilliant as I could be. My dad wanted me to reach my fullest potential without settling for being lazy. I never cared much for school. It took me six years to graduate college- for a lot of different reasons. But now that I am out in the real world I realize just how valuable my education is to my life. I can look out into the world and see where my education has brought me and where I might be without it.

I am thankful for:

- the ability to succeed that my education has given me

- having been taught diligence through schooling

- intellectual confidence

- being provided a quality education via my parents (a debt I am not sure I'll ever be able to repay)

- being born in a country where I have the opportunity to better myself through education

november one

30 Days of Thanks- Day One

My Parents

Growing up, I feel a lot of people spend much of their youth resenting their parents and swearing you'll never be like them but that's exactly who you turn out to be. For me, they became the people that I admire the most. 

I am grateful for:

- all the things they have done for me, as a child, growing up and as an adult

- all of their love through the good and the bad

- unconditional love- I've wronged them more times than I would like to admit, yet they continue to show me endless amounts of love.

- I would want nothing more in the world than to turn into the types of parents they have been to me.

- having such an excellent example of how to love and how to sustain a marriage through both the good and the bad over so many years

Thank you mom and dad, for your endless love and support. For teaching me to be the best version of myself. For being tough on me when I wanted you to be soft. For being the two best people in my world. For molding me into the person I needed to be and the person I should be.