With the week of Thanksgiving having passed recently, it’s important that we all recognize and give praise to all of the blessings that we have been provided, not just this year but all throughout our lives. I, for one, know for a fact that I have been blessed everyday of my life since the day that I was born: I have two parents who love me unconditionally, I have the opportunity to obtain higher education in subjects that I enjoy, and most importantly, I am living and breathing. It’s really easy to forget all the ways that we’ve been blessed when we’re always so stuck on the things that we don’t have. I’ve always found it to be a little silly that there’s only one day of the year that most people, especially those of us who are privileged to live in America, give thanks for our blessings. Like most people, I too am guilty of not being as thankful and grateful as I should be on a daily basis. In an attempt to change that, I’ve decided to list 7 things that I am incredibly grateful for.

1. One thing that I have always been grateful for, and forever will be, is my education. While I don’t believe that education is a privilege, and I do believe that everyone is entitled to an equal opportunity of having an education, I recognize the fact that not every individual who wants the opportunity is provided with it. I have felt a lot of personal resentment towards many of my friends whose parents were able to finance their college educations with no problem, while I’m struggling through my second year of college with already $50,000 worth of loans under my belt, but I realize that going away to college was completely my decision and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to do so. Having these loans has been a huge motivator for me to get the most out of my college experience and work hard so that I can pay them off in the future and create the best possible life for myself.
2. As the saying goes, “friends come and go” but at the end of the day, it’s your family that’s always going to be there for you. Unlike most people my age, who have cousins that they grew up with and look forward to seeing during the holidays, I can’t say that I’m particularly close with anyone outside of my immediate family. My family visits our extended family every couple of years for Thanksgiving, but aside from being friends of Facebook, that’s about as much social interaction as I have with them. That’s completely okay with me. I don’t dislike them or have any ill feelings towards my extended family, I just don’t know them very well. I do have a really awesome immediate family that I can always count on for support. Sometimes we argue with one another and say things that we don’t mean, but then again, what family doesn’t? I’m grateful that no matter how far away life may take me, I will always have a home and a family to come back to.
3. Anyone who knows me, or has seen the tattoo on my left shoulder, knows that I love the beautiful state of Colorado with all of my heart. When I made the decision to come to Colorado for college, I knew that I would always enjoy waking up to the image of sunlight bouncing off of the mountainside, but little did I know that I would fall so deeply and passionately in love with the state. From the bounty of scenic hiking trails to the beautifully open-minded and accepting people, I love everything about the state. The winters may be harsh, but when the sun sets on those breezy spring evenings and you can just barely make out the shape of the mountains in the distance, those are the days that I long for.
4. Water is definitely something that we all take for granted. I am definitely guilty of taking the occasional 45 minute shower just so I can sing the greatest pop hits from the 90’s. Who doesn’t love singing The Backstreet Boys into a toothbrush? Unfortunately, while we’re wasting gallons of water on karaoke, the Native Americans at Standing Rock are fighting to keep their water clean and free of the pipeline. I’m sure we’ve all heard about the protests and the heated debate of whether or not the natives have any right to water that isn’t on their reservation. Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, you have to acknowledge that for most Americans, we don’t have to fight for our water. We’re lucky enough to waste as much clean water as we want to, without the fear of there not being enough for the future generations. Additionally, the people of Flint, Michigan, due to poor decisions on the part of their government, have lived everyday of the last few months with no clean water outside of limited supplies of donated bottled water. I am certainly grateful that the struggle of not having clean water is one struggle that I have never been faced with and probably never will be.
5. In this day and age, the topic of religion seems to cause a lot of strife amongst friends, family members and acquaintances. People who choose to follow a religion are seen as hateful and narrow-minded, while people who choose not to follow a religion are seen as sinful and misguided. I, for a long time, can honestly say that I did not understand the appeal of religion. For a long time, I saw Christianity as being full of rules that couldn’t be broken and terrible, mean-spirited people. For those who don’t truly understand Christianity and what it means to really be a Christian, they absolutely do deserve to get called out on the bull. Those Christians who believe that homosexuality is the ultimate sin, but have cheated on their spouses on multiple occasions, those are not real Christians and they’re not good Christians. In my opinion, being a good Christian means accepting the fact that you, like every other individual on the planet, are a sinner and whether you like it or not, no sin is greater than any other. It also means accepting the fact that every person is entitled to their own religion, whether you agree with their teachings or not, and it’s totally okay for you to embrace other religions while maintaining your own. I consider myself to be a fairly devout Christian, but I also think that Islam is a very beautiful and unique culture and religion and I would love to learn more. I am thankful that the further I invest myself into Christianity and acknowledge the fact that Jesus loves me, I am also able to grow and enjoy the perks of being an open-minded individual.
6. Have you really experienced true love if you’ve never had a glass of frozen lemonade? Although it tends to be less popular in the fall and winter months, frozen lemonade is one of my favorite drinks. It’s crisp, refreshing and usually pretty cheap (S/O to Panera Bread Co.) If you like it tart, add more lemons! If you like it sweet, add more sugar! This list of things that I’m thankful for wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention frozen lemonade. Blessings and good vibes to the gods of frozen drinks.
7. Lastly, I am so incredibly grateful to be an American citizen. As an African-American, lower middle-class female, I absolutely understand that there are things about this country that suck. People are dying and being mistreated on an hourly basis, our government is absolutely corrupt and our president-elect is the equivalent of a cheetoh puff (no shade, but also lots of shade). Despite all of this, there’s no country that I would rather live in. Having all of these experiences and the past that we have makes those of us who struggle on a daily basis so much stronger. We live and we breathe and we continue to fight for our rights and the rights of those around us. Whether you’re American born or an immigrant (legal or not), we’re all Americans, we’re diverse and this is our screwed up country.

So there it is, my complete, but not exhaustive list of things that I am currently thankful for. I challenge each and every person who reads this to make a list of at least 10 things that they are thankful for and to share them. Share them on social media, with a family member, or with a friend. Make sure that somebody, other than yourself, knows that you are grateful for something.