So, this year has not been kind. To any of us. AT all.
And, when things don't go well, when we're sad, when we think the universe is conspiring to ruin our good times, we tend to do a few things. We mope, or we complain, or we point fingers. It's rare that when life hands you lemons, you give thought to the best lemonade recipe you know, even though that's what we try to do and it might even be what we say we do. It just does not always work out like that.
What I want to be able to do, ideally, is look at a situation as an OPPORTUNITY. Even those situatons that are working my nerves--I wish I was able to be THANKFUL that I have a situation that can really test my problem-solving skills.
Wouldn't that be awesome? If I could look at it that way? Imagine how my perspectives would shift about everything. Nothing would be awful because everything would be a lesson in which I had a chance to learn something.
So, bottom line, I wish I was thankful for ALL opportunity, not just the ones that may provide immediate, tangible benefits.
So...your turn.
What do you WISH you could be thankful for? How come you're not? Can you see any way to change your own mind about it?
Although it may not seem like it, I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for my friends, my family, and just being able to share moments with them throughout life. But something I seem to always overlook are the clothes on my back and a roof over my head. With Thanksgiving coming up it seems that this is what a lot of people tend to say they are thankful for having. But really, lowkey, when they aren’t around other family members, most kids get upset when they don’t get something they want and complain about everything rather than appreciating them. I read a book called, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Christopher, the main character of the book, who had asperger's, appreciated all the little things in life. For example, he never understood why families left the comfort of their own homes to see new things when there are so many things in your own home that it would take years to think of them properly. After reading this book, it gave me a completely different perspective on the little things in life. They definitely need to be appreciated much more. But back on track, this is why I am so thankful for my home. There are so many things to appreciate from it. I mean the list is endless, from your bed for comfort to just having a place to live in. Although I do not believe “home” is a building, I believe it is where you feel most comfortable and with the people you love the most that will be with you every step of the way. I do not believe a house can be a home because the word “home” carries a feeling. I am just very appreciative to be able to call my home a place with a loving mother that is going to support me through all.
ReplyDeleteYour home has way too many memories and things to be appreciated about, you simply could not just overlook it. To me, it’s the place where I have spent most of my years living. It isn’t much but it will always have a special spot in heart because of the moments we have shared together. I’d also like to thank my bed. The bed I have had since I got my own bed. This bed gives me the hours of sleep my body needs, gives me a shoulder to cry on, and has been there for me since day 1. When I say shoulder to cry on I mean when no one is there to help you in your time of need or you do not want to tell anyone, where do you cry? For me it’s always been my bed, and each and every time my bed has always come through to let me cry on it. If you think about it, the thing/person you trust the most to let you cry on is the bed. Your bed has been there through your toughest times and will continue to be there until you throw it away.
There so many things that are overlooked. It’s unfortunate because these things should definitely be appreciated. After writing this, it may seem like I appreciate this but most likely, immediately after, when I am talking to Cait, I’ll probably tell her how I want to move out of this ghetto ass neighborhood I live in. All I see right now is trying to leave this stupid environment, but later I’ll miss this apartment and I know it. I appreciate having a house to live in, I just do not appreciate anything inside it or about it. I do not appreciate the little things in my household like Christopher would. I hope this changes soon because I know I will miss this house.
I wish I could be more thankful for school. Everyday, I come to this building and complain about the construction, the heat not being powerful enough, and the rambunctious freshmen. In reality, I should be thankful that I have the privilege of education in this country. I should be grateful for the heat that we do have instead of complaining about how it's not good enough. Although the freshmen are immature and frolic wherever the heck they want to, even if that means right into me, I appreciate that they are happy little idiots who will eventually mature. With this being said, I should make a point to maintain more optimism at school. Not everyone in this world has schooling and even if oakcrest's infrastructure is not the best (litote ;)), I should appreciate its spirit and means for opportunity.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times we get so comfortable with what we've always had that we forget to be thankful. Two of the few times we realize how lucky we are to have something is once it's gone or once we realize that others don't have it. If we could live more thankfully everyday, then the world would be a much more pleasant place. Unfortunately, after our one day of thanks and reflection, we tend to fall back to our old complaints. As long as we make a conscious effort to see the good in everyone and every situation, then we're off to a good start. I'm going to try to train myself to be a more thankful person, only good things will come out of it. Hopefully I will learn to complain less and love more.
I try and think of things that make me thankful on even a normal day, not the normal "I'm thankful for my family" on thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for my family and I am most definitely thankful on thanksgiving because I love food but I try to think deeper than that. I'm still grateful for things I don't like, as in Mays Landing because I met good friends here like Sam and Racheal. I'm thankful for my ex boyfriend and ex friends for proving to me over and over again that I have so much worth. I am thankful for my cousin living in Estell Manor at one point and social media because that is what led me to Anthony. I am thankful for him shipping out August 29th even though I truly can not stand him being away. I am thankful for this because it proved how strong our relationship can be. It proved we can get through anything, and it has given me the independence to learn about myself as well.
ReplyDeleteOverall, as much as I hate waking up at 6:10 and coming to this hell hole of a school I am thankful. I am thankful for SOME teachers and the education I was lucky enough to receive through SOME classes. I'm thankful to be surrounded around some of the best people with the biggest hearts. I'm lucky enough to land into Bunje's AP and AOP classes with people I will never forget. Even though I hate school, I am some what thankful. I am thankful I live in a country where I can get an education and say freely what I stand for, for the most part. I am thankful that I landed in sunny Mays landing to meet people I will carry with me forever.
I wish I could be thankful for my family. Everyone loves that "family is everything" and "blood is thicker than water" but I'm not built like that. I've always appreciated other people's families more than my own, and that's probably the way it'll always be.
ReplyDeleteMy family lacks motivation, drive and basic awareness for other people, and I try to distance myself from all of the above. The males in my family are the stereotypical black males and I've spent my whole life fighting stereotypes, so I'll be damned if I support that. The females in my family (including me) are unhappy. The only difference between me and everyone else is that I am using all that unhappiness in order to make sure that I get what I'm working for and that I get what I deserve. My family is a disaster and I loathe every second of it; some of my friends don't even know that I've got two older siblings and a father because I do not wish to speak of them. Some people don't know that I have two nephews and that their mom is a waste of human existence (purely opinion but in my opinion that's facts) because they make me ashamed of my last name and I don't need that. My family makes it harder for me to go on.
I wish I could be thankful for my family, but I can't be thankful for something I do not want any part of. Maybe when I'm away from them that'll change, but I doubt it; I've tolerated more than I can handle.
I say I'm very thankful for everything in my life but sometimes I feel like I'm very ungrateful but I'm not. I wish I could be more thankful for the past. That sounds a lil weird and I am thankful for the past but I wish I could appreciate it's effect on me more and realize certain things happen for a reason, not everything, just toxic things.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could appreciate the fact that certain friendships end even if it was considered a "horrible breakup". No matter how much I could dislike someone, I lokwey forget I can't wave at a thanksgiving day game and say "how is everything". I have this tendency to sometimes put aside my reasoning that I don't like someone when I really do not like them. I wish I could be thankful that certain people left my life because they were hurting me. Instead I think that I didn't complete my job and I ruined them. Was I really that bad of a friend to make them never speak to me again? I forget that they could of hurt me 10x more and just want to apologize to them. I remember all the great memeories and not that threats and fights. I see only the good and no bad in most people. I wish I was thankful for a smarter mind. I love being optimistic but this is different and I'm in desperate need of knowing the difference in people. I don't know how to stand up for myself really. On a good day I do and because of my past I do stand up for myself more. Don't get me wrong, the past is the past and I would not change a single thing, TRUST ME, but I just forget and the things that did happen in the past aren't important so I question why am I still stubborn over this or why am I acting like it when it doesn't mean anything to me anymore? I wish I was more thankful for the past forever, not just a month and then say "okay we're friends again!! Love ya!!" I'm not fake I just don't like hating people if I don't have to.
I wish I could be more thankful for my family. I am very thankful for my immediate family but this thanksgiving made me realize that I need to care more about the rest of my family. I feel like since I only see my aunts and uncles a few times a year, I'm not very close to them. Since I'm not really close to them I can't be very thankful for them. I'm not the most social person at holidays, mainly because everyone is so loud, it's kinda a "Fraone" thing, and it gives me a headache. Then everyone gets drunk and annoying so that kinda drives me away too. I need to put in more of an effort to remain somewhat close to my family. In the upcoming holidays I need to sit and chat with the family and at least look like I'm entertained and having fun. But honestly I don't really see me becoming too much more thankful for my family because we just don't see each other enough to bond and get close. Im open to becoming more thankful for them, but unless I see them more often, I just don't see it happen.
ReplyDeleteTheres many, many things that I am thankful for, and as cliche as it may sound, I’m thankful that I have so much to be thankful for. But, unlike anything else, there’s things that I am not thankful for. I have a very hard time letting things go. It’s hard for me to look past something when it happens because I often dwell over it over and over again instead of just simply moving on. I wish I could be thankful that I have it better than I think I do. I wish I could be thankful that I don’t have it as bad as many other people out in the world. But for some reason, no matter how much I tell myself to be thankful for something so small, I find myself doing what I always do.
ReplyDeleteI think I’m not thankful that I don’t have it as bad as a lot of people because that’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never known “worse than everyone,” I’ve only ever knew “not as bad as everyone.” I’ve had the privilege my entire life to do well because of my family and I guess since I don’t know any different, it has become my norm, therefore it’s harder to be thankful for it. Lately, I’ve seen a lot of people and instances of having it “worse” than me and it has made a little bit of a difference. When I was younger, I didn’t see much difference in my life compared to others, but as I get older, I think it’ll change my mind about it little by little. The more I experience on my own in life, and when I am on my own and don’t have it as nice as I did as a kid, I’ll learn to be even more thankful that I don’t have it as bad as people. I don’t want this to come off as if I’m NOT thankful whatsoever, I’m just not as thankful for this as I am for other things, or should be. But one day I hope I will be because it’s very important
I wish I could be thankful for the people that impacted my life at a young age. I constantly get in fights with my mom about not being able to remember much from my childhood, but it’s not my fault that I can’t remember. I don’t remember much of my childhood and I wish I did. My parents tell me that my grandparents used to always take care of me and that they were the greatest people, but I only remember them when they were older and couldn’t do as much. I especially wish I was thankful for my grandma. I was told that we were really close and I used to hang out with her all the time, but I only remember her when she started to lose her memory and her ability to move. I see pictures of her throwing snowballs with my sister and I but I can’t be thankful for her doing that from a picture. I need a memory or else I won’t be as thankful as I could be. The only way that I could change my mind about this is if I got all those memories back with my grandparents and many other people. Other than that, I don’t see a way that I can be thankful for something I don’t remember.
ReplyDeleteI am very thankful for what i have and try not to focus on what i don't have. I prefer to be thankful for what i have and get only what i need when i know i can then maybe getting what i want but never stressing over it. I try not to waste a single second thinking about what i don't have, yes i do it but i try to turn everything into a challenge for myself. I make it my goals. But i don't mean wanting those new sneakers or that new game but when i want that really good grade or when i know i need a new washer and mad that i don't have nice new things. I make it a challenge to make what i have work and last as long as it can while striving for what i want in the future but not stressing too much over it.
ReplyDeleteI wish i was more thankful for my grandmother though. she has done so much for me and i tend to take her for granted. I should know better because i didn't take advantage of the time i had with my grandfather when he was alive and i regret not showing him how thankful i was for him and everything he has done for me and for forever being my only true sense of happiness. i don't want my grandmother to slip through my fingers and regret never closing my fingers and holding on tight. She may not show any emotion but negative and throw a lot of negativity and bad words at me but i need to try and not let that effect me and look past her darkness to that positive side i know she must have somewhere inside of her. i hope to get close to her and really get to know her more than i have and learn to appreciate her for the person she is and not what she isn't or who i wish she was.
My family consists of those who are blood-related to me and who are my friends. However, it’s more so my friends, than my relatives, so it’s easy to say that I’m so grateful for them every day because they are the people who continue to lift me up and support me even on my darkest days. Thus, I can’t say that I wish that I could be grateful for my family. On the other hand, I can say that I wish that I could be grateful for my parents. While my parents give me the ability to live a comfortable life and not have to worry about things that the less fortunate have to worry about, there are some things that just create a divide between me and the gratefulness that I can have for them. My mom has been through so much in her life and while I’ve gone through more superficial problems than her that really don’t matter on a larger scale, I can’t find it in me to be super, super thankful for her. Don’t get me wrong, I love her and I appreciate her, but I can’t be one hundred percent thankful for her, no matter how hard I try. It’s the same thing with my dad, even though I’m probably less thankful for him than I am my mom. I think my un-thankfulness has to do with the fact that since I was a child, they only pressured me to be the “perfect daughter.” I always had the pressure to do well in school and they wouldn’t accept anything less than an A. I was always taunted about my weight and ridiculed by them and my other family members just because I didn’t fit the average stereotype of an Asian girl. Not only that but what really bugged me and set me off from everything they said and did was the fact that they treated my brother completely different. Rather than encouraging him to do better in school and forbidding him from doing whatever he wanted, they allowed him to goof off and basically fail school. The only thing that I have against my brother is the fact that he lived a childhood of freedom from stress and pressure as well as constant reminders of how he needed to be better. Not only that but he always was allowed to hang out with friends and sleep over their houses’ as well as drive anywhere at any time (when he got his license), while the only time I have the ability to do so is on the weekends, and if I go out twice in a row I’m automatically said to be “going out too much and have to stay home for a while.” And of course that it has crossed my mind that my parents don’t even realize that they are being this way, and only think that they are “doing what’s best for me,” but I do blame them for many things. I blame them for my fear of failure. I blame them for never feeling good enough. I blame them for being self-conscious. I blame them for my lack of experience within the real world outside of school. It may sound like I hate them, but honestly, I don’t. I may not like them half the time, but that also means that I do the other half. I love my parents because I live with them and I know and see what they also go through. So, I guess I only half blame them. And that I also half blame myself. Yet, while it may seem that I will never be able to be thankful for them, in truth, I can see myself being thankful for them years down the line when I truly understand why they did the things they did.
ReplyDeleteI say I am grateful for a lot of things because I know I am. I am thankful for my family, friends, and the life I was given, of course I am thankful for all of that, but those are the stereotypical things everyone says they are thankful for. Therefore, people, including me, need to think harder and be thankful for things that they never do they were thankful for. And that is where this blog plays apart and letting me think of what I really should be thankful for.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was more thankful for the opportunities that I have been given. I already know I was thankful for them, but I never really acknowledged my thankfulness for those opportunities. Now that I look back on everything, I should be a very thankful person because I have been blessed with a lot. But now that I am realizing all of this, I am learning to be thankful when opportunities arise in my life.
The reason why I was never thankful for the opportunities is because I never thought to or I was too caught up in the moment and never realized how grateful I should be. But now that I am more aware of it all, I know that I will be more thankful in the future and I will never take any opportunity for granted.
This sounds corny and cliche, I know, but I really wish I could be grateful for what I have. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for my family, friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, but I really wish I genuinely appreciated everything in my life, including my financial situation and the fact that my parents are still married. I often take these things for granted because I’ve never lived without them; sure money is tight sometimes, but my parents always find a way to put food in the fridge and pay the electricity bill. And yes my parents fight a lot, but I also know that they love each other a lot and that my life would be completely different if they were divorced. There’s a lot of people who struggle to feed their families and so many of my friends are constantly going between their mom and dad’s houses, or they only have a single parent in the picture. I want to feel lucky that I get to spend the holidays with both of my parents. I want to view my privileges as a luxury, not as an everyday necessity.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the college process has opened my eyes and showed me just how privileged I am. First of all, (and I’m kinda salty about this not gonna lie, but the whole point of this is that I SHOULDNT BE) I barely qualify for major financial aid programs, such as EOF (the educational opportunity fund). I know this is actually a good thing, like congrats I’m not really that poor, but on the other hand it kinda sucks because my family is lower middle class and I still can’t afford college tuition. bUT ANYWAY, I wish I was capable of only focusing on the positive aspect of that scenario. Like I’m aware that other people are more in need of financial aid than I am, and I understand that my family is relatively well-off, I just wish I felt lucky to be in that situation, yaknow? I probably don’t make any sense bc I am really tired and I just had thanksgiving dinner part dos and the turkey chemicals are making me extra sleepy aND HERE I GO AGAIN I SHOULD BE THANKFUL THAT I EVEN GET TO HAVE A THANKSGIVING DINNER PART DOS. Sorry for the caps it’s just that I have so many good things and I never realize how good I have it and I’m so ignorant it makes me angry so caps lock is necessary to convey that anger. I hope this argument makes some sort of sense but I am quite tired so I think I’m gonna go to bed now beCAUSE I HAVE A BED TO SLEEP IN. AND SHEETS TO SLEEP UNDER. AND A COMFORTER TO GO ON TOP OF THOSE SHEETS. Okay I think I’ve made my point goodnight.
I’m thankful for my family. I’m thankful for my friends. I’m thankful for each and every one of you. And I’m thankful for the life I live. But I wish I could be more thankful for my culture and where I came from (can I say that?). I grew up listening to my family speak vietnamese, but I didn’t bother learning how to speak the language. When my parents tried to speak to me in viet, I’d answer back in english. I didn’t want anything to do with my culture (besides the food). I was born and raised in the states. My first and only language is english. I grew up as an American girl, and that’s all I ever was. But I wish I was more thankful for my culture because I can’t have a full on-conversation with my grandma, or with any of the elders in my family. I can’t listen to a vietnamese conversation without getting a giant headache because they speak so fast and my brain can’t process what they’re saying. It’s a part of who I am, and I failed to acknowledge it. Quite frankly, I shouldn’t even be ashamed of it. And it sucks because when I have kids, they won’t know anything about their vietnamese side.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why I’m not as thankful for it as I should be is because I wanted to “fit in”. All of my friends were american and they ate american foods and spoke only english. If I said something in viet, they’d look at me funny and judge me. Or at least I thought they would anyways. Even now, my “asian accent” will slip and I’ll get really embarrassed. I think the only thing that’s stopping me from being thankful for it is my mindset-- the fact that I’ve come to accept its absence (if that makes sense). I’ve never really lived a life with it, so there’s really no point in trying now. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to learn more about my culture. But I’m surrounded by so many Americans everyday, I think I’d just forget it anyways.
I am not thankful for the person I am which I guess is a weird thing to say but it’s one of the most prevalent truths to my existence. I’m uptight, too kind, forgiving, I am the definition of conflict. Whether its politics, science, religion, or basically anything I am always in the middle. It gets really annoying being someone that’s like that because you’re always at war with yourself. It’s like attempting to push an immovable object, the end result is frustration and exhaustion. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people that can get shitfaced and not give a damn about it, a person that can use people to get what they want, I wanted to be THAT person. I guess the main problem is that I know who I am and I just can’t let myself become that person.
ReplyDeleteThe again because of this I have great friends, im good at my sports, and most importantly I discovered myself (A topic that will be covered within my next OP). I can’t see anyway of changing my mind on it but it’s bound to happen one day, I’m just probably too immature to understand that I am meant to be an outsider.
I wish I was thankful for more- way more. I tell people all the time to be grateful for what they have and to be thankful because there are others out in the world with much less, less opportunity, less materialistic items, less freedom. Yet, I myself cannot even listen to my own words. I am thankful and I am not thankful all at the same time (that is a strange thing to admit). Let me put it this way, in life I have been told a lot of things I have been given a lot of advice people have done a lot for me. Now what I have been told in life has needed to have been said, I know things happen because they need to and I find myself unable to give thanks because of my petty and bitterness. I wish I could be thankful for all the things that people have done for me out of the kindness of their hearts. I wish I could be thankful for those who have told me exactly what I needed to hear although I may not have wanted to hear it. The only thing that gets in the way of my ability to be thankful is me. I am immature, naive, narrow minded leaving me with almost a certain mindset that should be nonexistent. I need to learn to take what people do for me and what they say to help me as help. I look at everything as someone trying to know me better than me or as someone proving me wrong or trying to control me. This makes me ungrateful therefore unthankful of the deeds done by others. To change this I must first change the way I look at well almost everything. So let us just say that with time I will learn to be more thankful.
ReplyDeleteI’m the type of person who will always try to find the light in the dark days. The type of person who always remembers that the good outweighs the bad; even when it feels like that couldn’t even be possible. When thinking of the good, I think of the fact that I have a loving and huge family, I have a roof over my head, clothes, amazing friends, etc. And I always think to myself how grateful and thankful I am for everything listed above. But I wish I was more thankful for everything that my parents do for me. My mom works 12 hour shifts almost everyday and barely gets any sleep, she literally busses her butt off at work, cleans other people, saves lives- so so so much. My dad is a custodian in the hospital and buffs floors, cleans our house, makes dinner, takes care of my Papa occasionally. There hasn’t been a time that I didn’t have what I needed, or I didn’t have food in my body- they always found a way. And sometimes I don’t know when enough is enough. I’ll just keep asking them for stuff and when they say no and I get mad, they feel bad. I really can be so ungrateful sometimes and I really wish I wasn’t because I have everything in this world to be grateful for. To change this little problem I have I just have to remind myself that I have everything I need, and don’t need everything I want. And to tell my parents how much I appreciate them more :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be thankful for the 16 years I lived with my mom. For some reason, I know it. I should be thankful. I tell myself I am. But, I don't care. I don't miss it. Isn't that weird? I was fed, I had a roof, phone, my own bed, hot water- things some people would beg for.
ReplyDeleteWhy am I not thankful? Why am I not running back home?
I don't know how to explain it. My house scares me. But why? I can't even figure it out. I feel like I can't grow. I feel trapped. I feel confused.
Why am I not thankful my parents spend every night gambling? Money is money at the end of the day and I'm not questioning where it came from when I ask for it. Why am I not thankful?
Honestly, I wish I knew.
i am literally the most grateful person you will meet and i take pride in that i was raised to appreciate literally everything. i wish i could be more thankful for my life in general though. i feel as though i take for granted everything i have. i have an amazing life with a good support system. i have school, i have food, shelter and clothing. nothing is wrong with my life and honestly i have nothing to complain about. and i feel like i have to do something to help everyone who has less than me. I feel as though alot of us really take what we have for granted. we all need appreciate life a little more. there are really people who dont have a home. a house, a family, clean water, food, clothing, a bed etc etc. you can wake up in the morning and take a shower, some cant. you can get up and wander to the fridge whenever your hungry and get something good to eat. some people cant. I think about this all the time. When i go to places like philly, i see so many people sleeping on the streets, begging for food or money, it breaks my heart into a million pieces, i want to give them everything i have. everything that i take for granted. i wish i was just a little more thankful for my life
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ReplyDeleteI’m thankful for everything I have in life right now. Sad to say that a lot of people in this world can’t say the same thing. I have the things that a lot of people dream to have and I should never take it for granted. I’m one of the lucky ones.
Anyway, many people have came and gone in my life. That’s life you know. There’s different reasons behind it; whether good or bad. I’ve even crossed paths with some of them because we just didn't see eye to eye and that’s okay. Not everyone will. You see, I didn't understand that. I would hold grudges on people that left my life in a bad way. Hatred is what I felt towards them. That being said, I wish I was grateful for the people I crossed paths with. Although they disappointed me, they also did me a favor. They taught me lessons and experiences that is key for the future. I thank them for that
I don't like to thank the universe for the bad things that happen to me, but I can appreciate what I become in rough times. I wish I could see more good in a tough situation. I wish I could get more out of it. I want to be able to appreciate the good moments I spent with a shitty person. The sad fact is I can't, because all I feel is regret. I didn't used to regret the time spent. But as time goes on as I move further and further away from them as I grow and become a better person I realize this journey to self acceptance and happiness wouldn't have been so late if I had never been with them. I wish I was able to be this strong magnificent human when I was with them because that would have been ideal...or in fact I wish they had been a strong magnificent human. But neither of us we're so I regret not putting myself first when someone else didn't. Maybe one day I'll look back and take all the lessons I learned and all the good things that came after and be happy with it. For right now I'm just mad. Mad at myself for ruining so many lives because of how weak I was. I'm mad that I ruined my life for someone who didn't give two shits about me. I'm mad I risked everything and gave everything to someone who refused to give it back. For me all the lessons weren't worth losing my life or my soul. They didn't care about me the way they pretended to and if I could go back and do it all over I would do everything different. Now all I can do is look back on my biggest mistake and regret.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for so many things in my life that it was very hard to find something to be unthankful for. I realized that I'm not really thankful for everything my parents do for me. Everyone knows I'm spoiled and I always get whatever I want so when I don't I'm a brat. I never realized how thankful I should be when it comes to things like that because other people don't have what I have. A lot of people don't have 14 pairs of uggs or can get a new phone every year like I do/can. I am so used to getting what I want that when I don't I have breakdowns but I never thank my parents enough for the things I do have. I wish I could appreciate what they do for me more and the struggle that they go through just to please me and my siblings because trust me they do. Giving a child everything they ask for doesn't just come from sitting there, it comes from hard work and overtime. I guess I never really saw how much they do for me until now. All I can do is thank them for doing everything they do for me and tell them that I am grateful for the things they provide me with.
ReplyDeleteI always find myself thinking about this. Whenever I'm having a bad day or something shitty happens to me, I always end up feeling like an idiot for moping. I have so much more to be thankful about compared to the temporary issues I face. Especially my family situation. The fact that my dad decided to pick up and leave me to deal with all of my problems without a father figure makes me extremely angry. Sometimes it makes it hard to be grateful for my mom and the fact that she has never left my side or stopped supporting me. When I'm missing my dad or wishing he was there to help me realize my self worth, I end up thinking about how I'm being ungrateful for the support that I have. My family truly loves me and there a kids out there that are much more unfortunate then myself. My mom works for dyfs and has told me so many horrific stories about children who are mentally and physically abused. They have no one to show them what it's liked to be loved or supported and that breaks my heart. There are even children living on the street. Even though it's hard without my dad, I need to be grateful for the support and love that I have from my family and the roof that I have over my head. I find myself taking these things for granted more often then I should and it is not okay.
ReplyDeleteI really try to make sure I’m thankful for everything that makes up my life. Nature, my family (even though they usually suck), my friends, my house, the food I have, past experiences good or bad, etc. I tell other people all the time that it’s important and possibly life-saving or life-changing to develop gratitude for little things like sunsets or rainbows or a stranger’s compliments. There’s still some things I have a hard time appreciating, though. The most prominent of those things is my body. I’ve always hd a hard time accepting myself in terms of how I look. I didn’t develop an eating disorder because I got bullied for my weight or anything… because I never did. In fact people tell me quite often that I’m really small. But for some reason, probably something about control mixed with something else about insecurity, it wasn’t enough. I got pleasure from hearing “too skinny” or “sick-looking”. I didn’t want attention for it, but hearing those things started to really satisfy me. To a certain extent, they still would if I heard them today and I know this because sometimes I wish I never stopped. Anyway, I was always uncomfortable in my own skin and, to my surprise, the eating disorder made it worse, sov I’m not very thankful for the body I have right now.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is work. Mindless, uninteresting, uninspiring teenage-work. Everyday, whether it’s at home or elsewhere, I watch money destroy people and things and even the planet. Families fall apart, power-hungry rich men take advantage of everything and everyone, forests are bulldozed down to make room for wealthy neighborhoods, homelessness dominates the streets and pushes youth down very unforgiving paths, people join the military and kill other people, other kids, for the monetary benefits because without taking that path they might find themselves in an alleyway or shelter or cardboard box too. Almost every separation line dividing humans boils down to money. It’s hard for me, as a result, to value money. If currency never existed, how would we have developed differently as a country if at all? There’s lots of answers in including a few that surround the idea, the dream, of peace. At work, naturally, I think about this sometimes which leads me to think about all the time we waste working these mindless jobs that most people have settled for. I value time more than money as I value money almost not at all so I’m really not that thankful for work.
I can’t change my despise of money, because it has to do with a core belief. I’m sure overtime, though, I could change my feelings towards my body. How? I could start by not counting so much; by not working out for hours every night even though I hate it; by not looking in the mirror so much; by throwing out the scale...so on. But I’m not sure if I’m ready yet because, like I said, it’s a control thing. Sometimes, obsessing over it feels sorta good.
I am thankful I was an immature little whore. Yup I just came out and said that. On the blog, to everyone. I feel like that entire experience shaped me. When I look back on it, not even the whore part, just the way I was, how I acted towards people, I don't like it. I was immature as hell and ew it makes me cringe. But I should be thankful that happened in my life, that kind of sparked a complete change that sprang out of nowhere. That year really shaped how I am now. I am so different and instead of looking back and hating it, I should be happy and thankful it brought me here. Now I am much more mature. I’d say I am much more mature than a lot of people considering the fact that I used to like people ,and now I cannot stand anyone not on the same level of maturity as me. Yeah that kind of makes me kind of a tad anti social b**** because I don't like many people, but it just shows who I am. I do not put up with immature people and people who act certain ways. So I am thankful because i like how I am now. I am no longer this sad little girl who wanted people to like her. I know who I am, I have an identity. It changed my life and I think I should be thankful for that.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could be more thankful for my coaches. They’ve done a lot for me throughout my high school years. My character and personality has been shaped by my coaches and peers that I call my teammates. I usually give credit when it’s due but with my coaches only time they receive it is at banquets. They don’t ask for much from you but to try your best and compete at the level you are capable of.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for my coaches, I just don’t show it enough I believe. Maybe it’s because I’m pretty occupied with school work and other things I might be going through in life. I know my coaches on a personal level. They start to become more like family. You introduce your family t them and you get to know their kids. In-season it’s a blast with these coaches at Oakcrest. I just wish that I acknowledged this earlier in high school.
I’m thankful for many things, especially the people I have in my life and the opportunities I have in life. Im fortunate enough to have parents that care about me and wish to see me do well in the future. I’m thankful for a lot but my coaches are the ones that shaped my character into the young man I am today and I thank them for that.