Things I am Thankful For

I never really think to blog nowadays - I'm keeping busy working and volunteering, and looking for a job. Plus just, you know, trying to be a human being and keep my apartment clean and stuff takes time too.

But one of my favorite young adult fiction writers/bloggers, Meg Cabot, posted on her blog today and it kind of inspired me. I know that when I sit down with the entire paternal side of my family tomorrow, and we prepare to stuff ourselves silly, I won't really know what to say when my turn comes to say what I'm grateful for. I always say something generic, like "living close to family" or "good food" or something like that. And while those are definitely two of the things I am most thankful for (duh, for those who know me!), there are other things I won't necessarily say, or have time to say, at the dinner table.

So. I'm thankful for:

• Rediscovering a passion for reading.

• Feeling like I know what direction I want my career to take. For any recent college graduate, and especially humanities majors, the time after graduation is a gaping maw of uncertainty, doubt, and awkward answers to the question "what are you doing next?". Knowing that I want my purpose to revolve around food justice and education is an amazing step forward for me, even if I am not exactly sure yet what I want to do in that enormous field.

• Living close to my parents, aunt & uncle & their wonderful kids, and two of my grandparents. And having Skype to talk to the rest of my family, including my sisters. Having family around has become something really important to me, and I don't really know how to express how glad I am to have them without sounding horribly cliché.

• Funny TV. 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, etc etc etc. My dad says that laughter is "fuel in the tank"; he's right.
  
  
• Friends, old and new. Discoveries, adventures, conversations, everything.
  
  
  
• My insane cat.
  
  
• That I've learned so much in the last year about what I do and don't want in a relationship, or rather partnership, I should say. Among other things, I've gotta end up with someone who loves going to the Farmers' Market. Odd criterium, I know, but true.
  
  
• Netflix. Hell yeah.
  
  
• That I live somewhere where I am surrounded by GOOD FOOD!!
  
  
• That Narnia and Tron Legacy are both coming out in the next few weeks. Epic, ridiculously gratuitous cinema is what movie theaters of the 21st century are MADE for. And it makes me so happy.
  
  
• That I've healed decently from recent injuries! Sitting on the couch for days and weeks is NO FUN.
  
  
• That I am getting better at being a real person, one step at a time. Faith works wonders :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all - hope you are spending it with people you love!