I look at some of my friends who have had real struggles in their lives. I look at strangers from the internet, magazines, news shows on TV... It all makes me feel so lucky and so grateful. Some of what I have is because of my own hard work, but a lot of it is pure chance of what I was born into, opportunities provided to me, etc. I was born into an awesome family, who, despite going through divorce when I was little, have remained so consistently there for me. They somehow knew just the right balance of helping me out and not helping me out so much that I never learned how to do it on my own. They gave me solid morals and values to live from, but taught me that questioning things was good and that it's important to have my own opinions. Even though my dad and I disagree on many many political topics, he never thinks I'm stupid or wrong for my opinions (ok, sometimes he might think I'm wrong, but not stupid...). My family put just the right amount of pressure on me, too - in my work, I see people whose parents push too hard, and they crack. And I see people whose parents didn't push enough, and they slacked off and felt unloved. But mine was just right to make me feel that they valued my potential in life and wanted me to achieve it, but that my happiness was more important than achievement in general.
And then I traveled. I moved to Nashville, to Austin, to Eugene, to Los Angeles... In each of those cities, I made great friends, which is not a simple feat. But somehow it worked out. I still wonder how I became so lucky. I'm about to go to Thanksgiving at a friend's house since I live too far away to be with family - and I realized that since 2004, I have always had somewhere to go to celebrate this holiday even without family. That I still talk to my best friend from high school on a regular basis, my best friends from college, and from grad school...even though I don't live near any of them... Again, I am so grateful.
Of course, there is my work success, which sometimes just surprises me because I just feel like an average person. My parents will, of course, roll their eyes at that, thinking that I am superior to most, but let's be serious - they're my parents. It's in their genes to say that. But I have achieved a lot, and I feel so lucky to have the opportunities that I have for my work. Again - even when things aren't going my way, something always seems to come through. I know many people who have been out of work - some for short periods of time and some for longer. I know they are smart and hard workers and that their difficulty finding work is not indicative of their worth. So the fact that I have no worries about having a job in the near future is something I feel truly grateful for.
If you're reading this, chances are good that I know you (since this isn't the most frequented blog on the internet) - and chances are also good that you are someone I am very thankful to have in my life. Heck, even if you're reading this and I don't know you, I'm still thankful for you - that for some reason, you took interest in what I have to say. I know there are bad things in the world. There are things that haven't worked out. But to be able to sit here in my beautiful apartment and reflect on my life is something I appreciate so much.
