Top 5 Things I Am Thankful For

This was a really hard list to make, because I felt incredibly... sappy creating it. Sadly, the things I am thankful for are usually the things everyone says they're thankful for. I do mean it, however, which may set me apart from others who just say it cuz they're supposed to? Hmm... we'll see.

5) Music. My life would be empty without music. I think I would be a much different person if I did not have it in my life; I would not understand myself or the world in the same way.



4) The ocean. Well, the ocean and everything that lives in it, would be more apt. Spending time near the ocean, on the ocean, and in the ocean has provided me with some of the most incredible, exciting, soul-searching and soul-defining moments of my life. Scuba diving is the time when I feel most at peace and most like myself, and for that I shall be forever thankful!



3) Really Good Teachers. This quarter I took two history classes from very famous historians, which juxtaposed two very different approaches to teaching. One, taught by a Pulitzer-Prize winning Constitutional historian was the epitome of every bad, elite university cliche: he talked incessantly about himself, his children, his past students who have gone on to become lawyers/politicians/etc., and everything else that was irrelevant to the curriculum and really took away from any point that I would have taken away from lecture. We read one of his books, which he reminded us of often. In fact, the last lecture of class was him actually reading from one of his essays that he was "really proud of." Not even kidding. The other class was taught by a McArthur Fellow who is the premiere historian in his field. He never mentioned himself, unless he was discussing history as a meta-subject, and we read some of his book, but I honestly didn't even realize it was his writing until it was pointed out to me by a friend. The level of thinking in his lectures far exceeded almost any other class I've taken at Stanford, forcing you to think about difficult, large themes, and was not about memorizing facts/obscure Latin phrases (not even kidding about the other prof) but instead was about thinking outside the box. Even though I was not interested in the subject matter, it turned out to be one of hte best classes I have ever taken, because it forced me to think about the world around me in a completely new light and reminded me why I love to learn, and why education/school is actually important. So I'm thankful for that! And, really, I just wanted to rant about the other class.



2) The little things in life. Awww, cliches. My dear, dear friends. But, really, I am thankful for those small moments during the day that just make you smile and remind you that being alive is actually pretty cool. For example, Val and I have advent calendars... so every day, even if only for the two minutes it takes me to eat the chocolate, I have something to look forward to and feel warm fuzzy about.



1) Family. This is where I feel a little trite. Hopefully my explanation makes it a little less so, however. Something I have learned since leaving home is that family is much, much more than the people you are related to by blood, and it is possible to create family wherever you are. Clearly, I am thankful for the family I am related to- without my parents, brother, or extended family's support, love and guidance... well, lord knows what my life would be like. I'd be a fucking mess. But, I'm also incredibly grateful for the family that I have found outside of the "nuclear" family-- the friends I have made that have become my family because I do not live with mine anymore. I would also be a wreck without the few people who have taken the time to actually get to know and understand me and have become such an important part of my life that I cannot imagine it without them. It gives me hope that the future, as an adult, won't be so lonely. :)