Thankful

Every year at Thanksgiving I feel like I should write about what I'm thankful for. But then I realize exactly how cliched that is. Everyone does it...so by doing it myself does that make me just the same? Shouldn't I be thankful for all of the good things in my life all year? Not just at Thanksgiving?

I suppose Thanksgiving is a chance to look back on the year and see where I am...and actually thank everyone for being a part of my life and express my appreciation for everything in my life. This is not to say that I don't appreciate everything all year 'round. I do. Immensely. Everyone and everything is in my life for a reason. Everything that has happened to me this year has been for a reason, and I'm even thankful for that.

So here we go. My list of what I'm thankful for:

• My family. They've supported me through everything...including this crazy decision to go to grad school immediately after college. They are my rock and my support through everything. My Dad and my brother are two of the most important people in my life...and my extended family has always been behind me, no matter what. I love going to family parties and just talking to everyone and having fun. I have the best family in the world, hands down.
• My friends, new and old. The best friends I've kept since high school and who I can still talk to at a moment's notice and it's like nothing's changed. I'm not going to name anyone because I know I'll forget someone, but you're all awesome. And now I have new friends in Kent who make life there so much more awesome than it already was. I love just chilling with the other ARHDs and other people from the program. We don't even have to go anywhere. We just chill at someone's apartment and talk, and laugh. I love it.
• My sisters. Specifically my "Wicked family"...my two Littles, Laina and Tashay, and my two Grandlittles, Amanda and Jess. They will always be half of my heart. And the other sisters I am close to...again I'm not going to name anyone because I know I'll forget someone. But you all know who you are. I love you all and we need to plan something for all us alum to see each other because I miss you girls so much.
• Grad school. This program has made me grow up in ways I didn't realize I needed to. I've matured so much in the past 3 months that it shocks me when I think about it. The girl who graduated from Ashland thinking that she was such a mature person was wrong. I had a lot of growing up to do...and I still do. But it took this program to make me realize that I need to...and that it's okay to still have a lot to learn.
• Residence life. I never thought I would love this job as much as I do. But it's awesome and it's made me consider other paths in student affairs than just Greek life. Making a student's day makes my life so much better. 
• My supervisor. Matt has helped me grow into a much more professional version of who I already was. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to help me navigate my first semester of grad school. He taught me that it's okay to make mistakes sometimes...and that I can learn from them. He's guided me this far in residence life, and he gives me hope that I can actually do this.

Is making the list cliched? Maybe. But I just want to express how grateful I am to have these people and things in my life. A lot has changed in the past year. I went to grad school...completely changed where I want to go in life. I'm single for the first Thanksgiving in two years, whereas last year I was convinced I was going to marry the man I was dating. How sad and naive that was. Anything bad that happened to me this year happened for a reason. It taught me to grow up...it made me realize that the end of a relationship doesn't have to be the end of my world....even if it felt like it at the time. Leaving everything I ever knew behind doesn't mean I'm going to be lost in a new world...even if I felt alone for the first week in Kent. I pushed through everything and I made it. And here I am. More mature than I was last year...hell...more mature than I was 3 months ago....and I realize that I still have a long way to go.

But I'm okay with that. And you know what? I'm thankful for it.