So I notice last holiday season, and again this holiday season, that alot of people are using their facebook status to name something in their life that they are thankful for each day in November that leads up to Thanksgiving. I'm a little behind on this project but decided to catch up and keep track of my "thankful things" on my blog so I could maybe write a little more why each item means so much to me! So here are my first 8 days (and in no particular order of importance) of my Thankful Thanksgiving List . . .
1. My mom and dad - Even as a girl that is thirty-something and apparently now considered a "grownup," I certainly do not feel like it. Although I work full-time, go to school, and am fully capable of taking care of myself, I always seem to complain about (but secretly enjoy) the fact that I am still my mom and dad's little girl. They always feel the need to give me advice when I do not ask for it (and I hate to admit that they are usually right). They always seem to find a way to save me when I make bad mistakes (and somehow try to make me feel like i've fixed them on my own). And they always find a way to send me home with leftovers so I don't secretly starve to death (even though I swear up and down I am capable of feeding myself). No matter what life brings my way, there is no way I could have ever gotten as far as I have, or become the person that I am today without them as my parents.
2. My blog - As silly and random as it may seem to my followers, this blog has helped me to express myself and try to figure out the person who I want to be and the things I want out of life. After a few unsuccessful relationships, and alot of life changes in the last few years, I seemed to forget who I was and exactly what what important in my life. Although it may seem like random venting most of the time, and superficial pictures of people, homes, clothes and quotes, there is an underlying meaning to it all about learning to be who I am and enjoy everything that my life and this world has to offer.
3. School - Oh school! I've never been a fan of school. I know I should embrace the opportunity and dive into the knowledge that can be gained from it, I hate it. I don't like sitting through classes, the pressure of teachers and other students and all the homework and tests that come along with it. That being said, last year I chose to go back. Not because my parents made me. Not because there were counselors or teachers pressuring me too. And not because it was required for work or any other reason. I went back because I wanted to better myself and be proud of something that I had chosen to do all on my own. I wanted to not settle for my day-to-day job, but rather to feel like I was making a difference in people's lives every day in a hospital. I chose to go back to make myself more complete. I finished last year with a 4.0 and was recently inducted into Mu Alpha Theta (two things I could have never thought possible). I'm thankful to school for pushing me to be the best I can be intellectually and for allowing me to take one step closer to making a difference in someone else's life.
4. My friends - I've learned over the years that it is not the quantity, but rather the quality of my friends that make my life complete. There is nothing like knowing that whatever stupid things you say or do, there is always those few people you can confide in and count on to not judge you but instead to give you a hug and tell you things are going to be okay no matter what happens. To the people who have been there through the good times and the bad in my life . . . thank you.
5. My neighborhood - After moving a few times since the devastation our city saw during Hurricane Katrina, I have recently settled into a wonderful shotgun-style, cottage-like home in wonderful Uptown New Orleans. As many things as this City goes through, and as much devastation as we have endured, there is nothing like living next door to beautiful Audubon Park and walking through the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood. I have a wonderful home, wonderful neighbors and I would go through all the pain and loss again to be settled exactly where I am. I have no intention of leaving this area for a very long time.
6. Tennis - For those of you who have ever endured the grueling sight of watching me try to play a sport . . . I apologize. lol. I am (to say the least) beyond spastic. I can fall down just walking, by myself, on a smooth surface, with no one around. It's something i've just learned to deal with and accept and try to find the humor in. We all have flaws, right?? Well, even though i've danced my entire life, i've never had the opportunity (or ability) to play a sport. I always envied the athletic bodies and coordination of my friends around me but never had to time or energy to put into it myself. Now since I live (literally) across the street from Audubon Park tennis courts (see #5), I have the luxury (and lack of excuses) to enjoy their brand-new courts and wonderful tennis pros. I started about 6 weeks ago taking tennis lessons once a week. And god bless my tennis instructor because I know how spastic I feel playing . . . so there's no doubt in my mind that teaching me has got to be a challenge. I may not ever be up against Serena or Anna at Wimbeldon anytime soon, but I am super thankful that I have had the opportunity to learn something new and challenge myself in an area that I have never ventured into before. And thank god I have great legs so maybe the boys on the court next too me will have something to look at in my adorable tennis attire rather than my horrible backhand ;)
7. My car - I never understood the investment of a car and the money that can get poured into it until my parents turned over the payments to me. Thanks mom and dad. While I obviously cannot wait to finish school and get the car of my dreams (a Volvo S40 . . . yes, i'm a complete dorky, soccer mom at heart), I cannot help but be thankful for the fact that I have a relatively-new, super cute Jetta. I'd like to thank the makers of this car for it's fuel efficiency and lack of maintenance that is required since it costs me an arm and a leg to service and i'm WAY behind on taking care of her. Thank you for always starting in the morning, never running out of gas, and continuing to run when i'm almost certain you are left with no more liquids in your little Jetta motor. Thank you for my never having to sit at a bus stop in the 100-degree humid weather heat of a summery New Orleans! And I will also be going super cheesy dorky this winter and buying her the red-nose and antler reindeer set for Christmas! (P.S. I always made fun of those people and now i've become one of them)!
8. Dancing - I honestly feel like you cannot understand how it feels to be a dancer unless you've done it. There is nothing like walking up to an old wooden barre, hearing the classical music (that you once probably hated as a child at lessons) and feeling the burn of muscles you never realized you had. It's not like working in the yard, or running on a track, or even lifting weights. It's hearing the counts of the music and letting go of everything that happened to you that day. It's just stretching and pointing and having nothing else in your mind but the way you see your body move in the reflection of the mirror. Thank you to everyone who has shaped my entire life every single day by making my mind and body into what it is and for letting me get to experience a whole other world called dance.
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