It’s been one heck of a year. I’ve had more ups and downs than I can count, but when I look back it was worth it all. I attended a friendsgiving a couple of weeks ago where we went around the room expressing what we were thankful for. I couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say (which is a different topic for a different day) at the time, but now I’ve got plenty.

I’m thankful for my job. It’s challenging in so many ways. I’ve been stretched and forced to grow more than I thought I would. I’ve learned so much about myself and my communication style. Like how irritable I am. It even took me by surprise. For a first gig out of college, it’s been an amazing experience.

I’m thankful for my friends. I don’t have a lot of family close to me, so my friends kind of fill those spaces. It has filled my life with joy to see them grow and learn so much over the last couple of years. I wish I could find the verbiage to explain how monumental it is for me to be able to be myself with my many many  flaws and have people who choose to see my heart and still rock with me anyway. Y’all are the G.O.A.T. I hope I love y’all the way y’all love me. Foreal foreal.

I’m thankful for my family. I think I’ve finally reached that weird point where my parents are my actual friends. I give my dad outfit advice and make sure his shoe game is poppin. My mom and I sit in the living room and talk noise to each other all day. Some people have strained relationships with their parents, and here I am thinking my mom is avoiding me if she doesn’t respond to my texts within two minutes. It’s great.

Lastly, I’m thankful to be alive. I know it’s a simple thing, but I try to live in gratitude at the miracle of waking up in the morning. I usually wake up without an alarm, which is amazing to me. I try to stop and think about it every single day. People have gotten stabbed to death at the same trail I’ve walked with my friends. I knew someone who got killed on the same tollway I take to work every day. I lost a friend, my age, to cancer two months ago. With a turn of the wind, any of those instances could have been  me. So, waking up in the morning is quite possibly the biggest blessing anyone could ever receive. Simply being alive is a triumph, because it is a sign that I have a purpose that I have yet to fulfill. It’s hope.

What are you thankful for this year?

xoxo Kaisha