What I am Thankful For

This is the time of year when people really begin to think about what they’re thankful for. I hope people don’t need this holiday to remind them to be grateful for what they have. As with Veterans Day and honoring the troops, I think remembering these important things and being thankful for them are a year round affair and shouldn’t be constrained to a single day.

However, I am going to sound a little hypocritical here, but I am going to do a post here on what I am truly thankful for. This may be the most sincere post that I have ever posted on here. Here now are the things I am thankful this time of the year:

I know it sounds a bit cliché, but my family is the top on my list. I don’t see how someone’s family would not the top of their list. Families are the people that care about you. They are always there for you when you need someone to listen, support, and comfort you when you need it. My family is no different. I will admit that there are rough spots, but in the end, they were always there for me when I needed it. I cannot thank them enough for this, and I know there are times that I am not particularly good at showing it, but deep down, I am extremely grateful for everything they do for me.

Next on my list are my close friends. I will not name names, but you know who you are. There aren’t many of you, but I cannot be more grateful for the small contingent of you that I call my close friends. You stuck by me even in my darkest of times and never gave up on me in the end. For this, I thank you with every inch of my being. I’ve been on this Earth for over 22 years now, and I wouldn’t have made it without you guys. Thank you all for everything.

I am thankful for my writing ability. Without this gift, I would not be able to communication with you guys through this medium. I have been lucky enough to win a few awards for my writing and I am very appreciative of those as well. It is my strongest talent, and one that I take great pride in and am very grateful for.

Another thing I am grateful for are you my devoted readers. I know that there hasn’t been a non-Phillies post for a while, and this is something I am trying to rectify. Thank you to the readers who stuck by me even with the large breaks between posts and actually care enough to read what I have to say. You will be rewarded for your efforts sometime down the line, I am just not sure how yet.

The rest of the things on my list are intangible. The first is the opportunities to an education that I have been given. I have been given over 12 years of strong catholic education and I value every moment of it. Right now, I am a senior at a strong university and am less than 6 months from graduation. I cannot believe how fast that the time has gone. I have been given a great opportunity and I am very thankful for it. Education is something that not everyone has the luxury of, and those who do have it, need to realize what a privilege it truly is.

For anyone else who has helped shaped me to become who I am today. Whether it would be teachers, neighbors, or employers, I am thankful for anyone who has helped me in discovering who I truly am in life. The search is long from over, but I am happily on my way.

I am thankful for the wonderful medium that is music. Music does so much to us. It can comfort us, teach us, bring us joy and love, make us think about ourselves, and give us clearer meanings to things that have happened. It can be our friend when we’re lonely or our courage when doing something we are unsure about. It is a truly a wonderful thing to have in our lives and I think it is something that everyone needs.

I’m sure nobody is surprised to hear this, but I am thankful for the Phillies. I am grateful for the fact that I have gotten to live during one of, if not the greatest stretches, in Phillies history. The chance to see your favorite win a championship, in person, is not something that every single person gets, and the fact that I got to witness Game 5: Part 2 of the 2008 World Series is something that I am extremely thankful for and is also something that I will never forget. It was the greatest moment of my life.

The final thing that I am thankful is the gift of life I have been given and everything that goes along with it. Life is such a precious thing to have and one should treasure what they have and not try to change it for anyone. Living a fake life is a lie and really shows the lack of appreciation for the wonderful gift of living. While it is true that there are many obstacles that one encounters throughout life, just simply knowing that life is short, yet plentiful aids in pushing me along on a daily basis.

Without this blessing of life, I would be absolutely nothing. I know that sounds silly and obvious, but it is 100% true. Life needs to be embraced, not thrown away and left to die. We, as a living community, need to work together to find who we truly are. If we did not have life, then this would not be possible and we would waste away to nothingness. I’m sure you heard this old cliché before, but it is something that one never grows too old to hear.