The Holidays are a time for spending time with friends and family and being thankful for what you have in this life. We may be thankful for our specific talents, the people we spend time with, and other positive events in our lives, but we often forget to acknowledge a few maybe not-so-good things that we should also be thankful for. I've compiled a list of things that may not be our fondest memories or give us the happiest feelings, but they still change us for the better.

The Person Who Broke You

You probably hate them with your entire being. You have a right to. They absolutely destroyed you and didn't care or pretended to care. They held you so high in their life, then dropped you, and broke you. Look at yourself now! Look at how you rebuilt yourself and improved! Without them, you wouldn't have become the person you are today. You wouldn't know the lessons you learned from them. Be thankful for that person or persons who changed you. They probably did something awful, but for you, in the end, it all worked out.

ALL of Your Family Members

You can't pick them, you're born into this group of people and are stuck with them for life, right? Who says you're STUCK with them? Your family loves you wholeheartedly. Even the members you don't necessarily get along with. Your family is always there for you. Haven't you heard "Blood is thicker than water?" Family is there when friends aren't. Your weird uncle who you can't see eye to eye with still loves you. You're still the baby of your parents who may want you to have a different plan for life. Family is family, be grateful you have them.

Those Regrettable Decisions

We've all made them. Each and every single one of us has slipped up at one point or another. Some carried heavier consequences than others, but we regret them nonetheless. Much like the person who broke us, we've learned and improved. A life changing lesson was learned when we did a certain action. We taught ourselves by hurting ourselves or others or slipping up in one way or another. Yes, it hurt and quite likely made us want to stop existing. But when the dust settled, we learned and improved. Be thankful it happened.

So be thankful. Be thankful for the good and the bad. Both make us better human beings. Remember that even in the worst times, we can always find something to thankful for. The worst brings out the best. Happy Holidays everyone!