1.) My wonderful family

My family is the best. They have been there for me through the fun times and the hard times. They have helped me find my calling in life and taught me that you can do anything you put your mind to no matter how big your dream is. If you stay dedicated, patient, passionate, and work hard, you can get anything you want in this world. Also, if I did not grow up with a brother with Autism I don’t think I would be as hunger driven to end the suffering of any human and to help any individual I can to live life to the complete fullest. I thank him for that.

2.) My friends

I have some great friends let me tell ya. I am so incredibly grateful for the friends I use to have and the friends I have now. To be honest I have a small circle of true friends. I believe a real friend is someone you can talk to about anything, someone who helps you become the absolute best version of yourself, and someone to just have fun with who doesn’t cause distress in your life. The reason why I said past friends is because I have also lost a lot of friends. I found that those people were only there to mentally degrade me, and for some of them, it took me a long time to realize that. I believe that everyone comes into your life as either a lesson or a blessing. For those past friends, I thank you for the good times and the numerous amount of life lessons you have taught me throughout. It’s about quality, not quantity.

3.) Good health

I pray to God everyday thanking him for my health and my ability to wake up healthy every day so that I have the ability to change lives and to chase my greatest dreams. We truly take our health for granted and if you have your health, you should be oh so grateful for that. Mental and physical health is very important in order for us to function every day to the fullest.

4.) Books

Books provide an opportunity to enter another world all from the comfort of your own home. It took me awhile to really appreciate books and all of the endless benefits you can receive from them. Whenever I am stressed or angry about something, I pick up one of my favorite books and read a couple of pages out of it. Books provide me with mindfulness, peace, knowledge, and overall enjoyment.

5.) Life

Think about it, how cool is it that you are actually here to make a difference in someone’s life in one way or another. Appreciate your life and life, in general, every day because you are here for a reason.

6.) Challenges

They may suck at the time, but they always make you a better person. If life were easy, man it would be boring. You might think it wouldn’t be. If becoming a therapist were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not of course. It’s a lot more rewarding and looking back on all of the amazing challenges you have overcome making you into the person you are today is truly an amazing thing. Cheers to challenges in our lives.

7.) Coffee

Well, without coffee I don’t know how this world would be. I mean, you can’t buy happiness but you can buy coffee and that’s pretty close I’d say.

8.) Mentors

Without mentors in my life, I don’t think I would be as dedicated and driven as I am today to make a difference in this world. Your mentors give you the best feedback, inspire you to achieve your greatest dreams, and motivate you to work hard every day even through the tough times in life. Look up to someone who has been through it all and has made it, and has really proven to everyone that it is possible if you just believe and work hard.

9.) The weekends

After a hard week of being flooded with constant work, it’s always good to finally sit back and relax after class on Friday. Knowing that you not only destroyed the week, but you finally have the time to sit down, hang out with friends, have a couple of beers, and relax.

10.) The mornings

If anyone knows me well, they know how I love mornings. How in the world can I love mornings? Well, I believe mornings are so great because when I wake up, I realize that it’s time to kick some ass and the fact that I am one day closer to finally making my dreams become a reality gets me amped and ready to go. I also love being ahead of the world in the morning. While everyone is still sleeping I am up and ready to go and being productive in the early hours means, for the most part, I can go to bed earlier at night.