Gratefulness. Praise. Thankfulness. Recognition.

It is not happy people who are thankful. 
It is thankful people who are happy.

Yep, you probably guessed what this blog is about. I really just wanted to write down a few of the that things I am grateful for in my life. Here it goes:

* For family, whether "by blood" or the people you've met in your life, that always make you feel at home.


* For my mom, who was the first one who nurtured me and has taught me so much.

* For my dad, for always supporting me and never losing hope on me.

* For my sisters, who were some of my first friends and continue to be my best friends.

* For my brother, who can always make me laugh and is someone who I look up to.

* For my brother and sister in-law, and the cutest nephews.
* For my step parents, who are really like real parents to me.

* For my close friends, who make life a lot easier to go through, and who love me more than I deserve.

* For teachers, who helped me to grow and learn, who saw things in me I didn't, and who challenged me to do my best.

* For pets and all animals I encounter who give me free and unconditional love. (Especially my current dog, D.J.)

* For good health, one of life's greatest pleasures. 

* For eyes that see the beauty all around me.

* For a working nose, so I can smell the flowers.

* For a body that allows me to function in any way.

* For the ability to dance.

*For humor and laughter.

* For a brain that allows me to think about the world and its people in all the ways that I can.

*For all the colors of the world that make life so much brighter than it would be otherwise.

* For seasons, no matter how many I experience and don't experience, their mere existence is proof that things are meant to change. 

*For the ability to travel and meet new people.

*For the numerous cultures that I can learn about and even have the opportunity to visit all around the world someday.

* For history, that I can learn about it in different ways and use that knowledge to make our present and future better.

* For cashiers and baggers in grocery stores who stand on their feet for long hours, making live easier. 

* For waiters and waitresses who put up with us at our worst-when we're hungry. 

* For a warm bed at night.

* For a phone that allows me to communicate with people instantaneously even when I am far away from them.

* For a computer, and for the fact they exist, and that I can have access to it-to do my work, to gain information, and to learn.

* For people who don't like me because they remind me that I have values and opinions so strong that I'm willing to sacrifice my likability at the expense of standing by them.

* For the people who can disagree with values and opinions and still be friends anyway. 

* For kind strangers who at a personal cost to them, helped me in some shape or form.

*For the time that I left something of value in a place, and someone turned it in to me.

* For the clothes on my back and in my closet.

* For good food, whether I'm making it or eating it.

* For knowing that I know where my next meal is coming from.

* For access to water, one of life's most important necessities. 

* For music, which fills the soul in all the ways that it does. 

* For art, which makes life beautiful in and of itself.

* For words, whether written or spoken, that give life meaning and give meaning to my life.

* For science, for giving us many creations that have simplified life, and the knowledge to keep seeking better ways to live. 

* For trees that give our environments life. 

* For the roads and sidewalks, and those who take care of them.

* For little pleasures like crushes that remind me that humans are always seeking to love and be loved.

* For acts of affection like hugs and hand-holding and kisses, because they remind me of the importance of touch.

* For heartbreak because it reminds me that my heart is strong enough to face the worse and keep still beating.

* For suffering and pain and failure because it teaches me to be grateful and aware that I only have so much control.

* For the ability to help others in need who remind me that that we are all in need, in one way or another.

* For good times and bad times - that we celebrate them or made it through them.

*For a higher power.

* For faith, hope, and love. Because those things are free, irreplaceable, and the only things that last a lifetime.

* For LIFE, because without it none of the above is possible.