Thank You

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm not sure if Thanksgiving is a holiday anywhere else but I know a lot of countries have a day that's similar. It's important to give thanks whether it's on a special holiday or not. I'm so fortunate but often it takes a special holiday for me to realize that. I decided to make a list of some of the things I'm thankful for. It would take just way too long for me to type every single thing out, sorry.

1. Family
I am super fortunate to have such a loving family. My family is definitely not perfect but they try their best to be there for me and understand me. I love my cousins and often I take having grandparents as granted. That idea definitely changed winter of 8th grade when one of my grandfather's passed away due to cancer. It really put things in perspective when they happen to you. I watch a ton of Korean dramas that always feature someone becoming ill due to cancer and it was just another eye roll at the ridiculousness of it all. Cancer is such a deadly thing and I'm also thankful that people are looking for a cure and we are becoming more aware about it and about what exactly it does to us. I won't bore you with the biological aspects on Thanksgiving Day.

2. Friends and Community
Humans are social beings and I love being around other people. Friends are the family members that you do get to choose. They understand what you're going through because they might also be going through it. I've definitely learned last year and this year that friends are also not to be taken for granted. Bickering and arguments make that friendship more meaningful because you realize that this is something you really do value. It's easy to be friends when you're laughing and smiling but it's not so easy to throw your pride away and apologize. Even when you don't think that you're wrong, your friends are more important than your pride and your need to be right. I also am super thankful to people at my church, especially EM (go read previous posts! I'm not sure whether to define things like this over and over again or just to not define them at all ever again. EM= English ministry). We are like a little close knit family and it's comforting knowing that you have people to turn to at difficult times.

3. Teachers who don't give you good grades but make you learn...
Haha... It's true though. It's making that good grade way more appreciated and you learn a lot more from pain than you do from an easy A. Life is longer than . . .  four years and it's these things and these lessons that really mold the rest of your life. When I look by at my elementary school years, I don't think about my little achievements filed somewhere in some cabinet but it's the pain and those tears that I write about and remember. Those are the moments that inspire me to learn more and become better.

4. Elementary School love
Ah, it's cute and you know it. There was a fourth grader at my house yesterday for dinner with her sister (and this other guy but that's not important). She was saying how this guy started passing her notes with hearts on it. He even made her a ring out of flowers. I want a ring made from flowers. I am thankful for that period of time when everything is innocent and no one has ulterior motives. When a guy writes/draws something for you, it's because they like you and not because. . . haha. Her love life is more active than mine. I guess that's slightly debatable now!

5. Imagination & Creativity
I don't know what I'd do if I was trapped in a box and told what to think. I'm so thankful to be living in the US. Words can't express how thankful I am. I watch my cousins in Korea and I just have to take a step back and a reality check. I'm happy that we can choose what to wear and experiment with our personal style. We can choose what to read, whether it's a chick flick or a teenage romance drama (icky) or some serious book.

6. Feelings.
That's also debatable but I am glad at the end of the day that we don't live in the Brave New World. Go read it if you don't understand. I still don't know if I'd choose truth over happiness though. I would say yes in a heartbeat but when applied I don't know. Like my teacher asked if we'd take the A over a C & some knowledge in our brain, and everyone said they wanted the A. Grades annoy me because sometimes they aren't the best indicators about how much we learn. They put so much stress on everybody and you're so busy focusing on grades that sometimes learning is the second priority. Feelings make our life go up and down and help us experience that creativity that I am thankful for.

7. You.
I'm thankful that you're reading this, especially if you've read all the way to this point. I started a blog out of impulse but I continue it just because someone might be smiling after reading this. That someone may be me but whatever. Thanks so much for finding my blog and reading it. It makes blogging a lot more worthwhile.

I know that's not everything that I'm thankful for but a lot of it is there. I'm thankful just to be me which I wasn't thankful for in 7th grade. It's good to see that I'm growing up. I hope you guys have the best day ever, Thanksgiving or not. I'm pretty sure I've gained a lot of weight by now, but as of now I can't care any less. xx