With Thanksgiving being over and Christmas coming soon, I hadn’t given any time or thought into what I am thankful for. I wanted to use this space as a place to reflect on the things I am most thankful for, the items in my life that make me whom I am and the people who have helped me along the way:

Family:

I am thankful for my family. I have a mother who works everyday to make sure we have everything we need, makes sure I am okay while I struggle with getting through school, and makes time to hangout with us even as we kids grow older. I have a father who I can count on when something goes wrong mechanically with my truck, a man who cooks us meals almost every night, and someone who keeps up with us kids everyday. I also have a brother whom I appreaciate, who works hard at his day to day job, and stays in touch with me even when we rarely see each other even though we still all live together. I am thankful to have a supportive, loving family. This family also extends to my boyfriend and his family, for I am thankful to have them in my life. My boyfriend has become my rock, and we will be celebrating 2 years together on Christmas. His family has also been so supportive with my writing career and just so accepting and loving. I feel truly blessed to have them. I also want to thank all of my family, mom’s side, dad’s side, friends whom I consider family. I feel so grateful for the love I receive, the love I can share with you all. I am also glad of the support I get, the encouragement, the people who tell me I can come to them for anything, it means so much and more.

Friends:

This is more of a dedication to all the friends who are still around, and those who have moved and are making great strides within their own lives. I am thankful for each friendship I have, and I try not to lose those connections even though time and work has all of us growing more apart. I am thankful for how successful I see some of you becoming, and how inspirational you are in my life. I am thankful for those who chose to stay in touch, even if it is only once in a while, and those that are accepting of my own busy life. It’s becoming harder the more we are all making moves with our lives, but it is great to catch up every once in a while, even just through Facebook.

School:

I am thankful for my education, even though I’m struggling right now through senior year of college. I know I put too much stress on myself, and I know that all of this hard work will pay off in the end. I am thankful for all the experiences that I have had through going to school, the friends I have made, and the amazing and supportive professors who really do put that extra time in to make sure you are OK and want you to succeed. It’s been so heartwarming to discuss how I feel about my future, how I am so unsure about the career choice I am making, but to hear from everyone that there is no right way to do it, you just need to have the fire and passion to keep it going. So, I am thankful that my education hasn’t put that fire out, it has only stoked it and made it burn even more.

Writing:

I am thankful for the creativity I have been given. I want to thank my 5th grade English teacher for making me believe in myself an my writing, and every other teacher after who has instilled my passion and helped cement it in my heart. I don't believe in myself and my writing as I should, and it's a struggle to come up with so many ideas for class, Odyssey, and even on my own in my tiny notebook, but I am thankful for my drive to keep doing it. I am thankful for Odyssey and the chance and platform I have been given. I am thankful for the resources at school to see what editing looks like, to see what a writing workshop looks like. I am thankful for all of the authors I have met who keep encouraging me and show me that following your passion does get you somewhere. I am thankful for literature, pen and paper and words and stories. All of these mean so much to me, inspire me to keep going.

I am thankful for so much more, but these are just the few I wanted to mention. My life and aspirations have changed so much over these last few years, I can't help but be thankful for what I have and what I've been given, as well as who has chosen to stick by my side. I hope the longer I life, the more things I can add to this list, because there are plenty to be thankful for.

Thank you, all of you.