Happy Thanksgiving!

Spoiler Alert:  This is not about books, film, or any type of fictional character whatsoever.  It's real life.  It's another Thanksgiving.  A day for us to all be thankful for everything we have, have acquired, and have experienced over the last year.  Recently, I've been studying the power of positivity and the art of gratitude.  Really, we should be thankful each day because everyday that we wake up, we are only promised that moment.  I have been guilty of not practicing gratitude and of overlooking all of the things I should be thankful for each day.  Since starting my new job a year ago and moving to a place where I did not know anyone, I've gotten even worse at taking things for granted and not realizing what I should be grateful for.  Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself for allowing the slightest negative thing to enter my brain.  I get consumed by the bad thing that happens and I fail to see the beauty in life.  I have worked on changing all of that as of late, and hopefully will continue my path of thankfulness and gratitude.

Today, and everyday, I am thankful that I have both of my parents.  They have been divorced since I was really young, and I have not always had the greatest relationship with them, but I am so grateful that both of my parents are alive.  Just in the last month, my mom has had surgery that could have resulted in a finding of cancer.  I am so thankful that there was no cancer and she is just fine.  My mom is one of my best friends and I have no idea what I would do without her.  At the same time, my dad got really sick and was in the hospital for awhile.  Though he is home, he is still a pretty sick guy and I am worried to death about him.  I am grateful that he is alive -- his illness could have been the end had he not gone to the hospital when he did.  I am also grateful that we talk more often now.  Even though we go lengthy periods of time without talking because life gets in the way, he's my dad and I love him.  I am grateful that he is on the path to recovery.  I am so glad that I did not lose him.

I am grateful for the friends I have in my life.  Lately, I have had people walk in and out of my life.  I have had my heart broken, I have met new friends, I have lost friends I care so much about.  I am thankful for each one of these people.  The ones who have hurt me, taught me a good life lesson.  Through the duration of our friendships, I have learned so many things.  The new friends I have made have taught me that sometimes it is okay to trust people again.  The ones who have left my life for good have taught me that friends are valuable and I should work my very hardest to make sure they stay in my life.  I have also learned that even if I try my hardest and they still leave, not everyone is meant to be in my life and that is okay.  I cannot control everything.  I am grateful for these life lessons because I wholeheartedly believe that they make me a stronger and better person.

I am grateful for my experiences, opportunities, and achievements.  I have spent so much of my life feeling like I am not good enough and that I have nothing to offer anyone.  That is untrue and I am grateful that I realize that now.  I have so much to offer the world.  I am very educated.  I have a wealth of knowledge that is beneficial to helping those who need it.  I have worked so hard to acquire three college degrees.  I have always worked hard to ensure that my career has centered around helping a population of people who are underrepresented and need a voice.  I have had amazing job opportunities and in those jobs, I have had the ability to help clients who desperately needed someone like me to assist them in standing up for their rights.  I am an activist for women's rights, domestic violence prevention, bullying prevention, and children's educational rights.  I love to write and have had the opportunity to meet some amazing authors.  They have given me the self-confidence I need to begin my own writing projects. I have some great peers and friends who encourage me to keep up with my writing and are willing to bounce ideas around with me.

There are so many things I am thankful for that I cannot even begin to write all of them down.  The point is, we should not just limit our gratitude to one day, simply because it is called "Thanksgiving."  We should practice gratitude and thankfulness everyday.  We should be proud of our achievements and abilities.  We should appreciate the people in our lives.  When we get the opportunity, we should tell the people in our lives that we appreciate them and love them - even if we do not believe that they appreciate and love us back.  Maybe they do appreciate and love us the best that they can, it's just not in the way that we want.  We should keep our hearts open to new possibilities and give chances to people and opportunities that we would not normally give chances to.  They may surprise us if we give them a fair chance.

Stepping off my soapbox, I just want to say that I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful holiday.  I am thankful to everyone who takes the time to read my blog posts.  You all rock and I appreciate the encouragement I receive from you.  Happy Thanksgiving!