Days Four, Five, and Six

1. I'm grateful for my fantastic group of girlfriends. Recently, I've been spending much more time with them, and it honestly feels so good to see them all again. Though most of them are nonbelievers, they know me better than anyone and are always there to give advice, call me on my crap, and cheer for me when good things happen. I'm so thankful that even if our faiths are different, we're like sisters. These girls are all so different and because of that, they each add a specific and wonderfully different piece to my world.

2. I'm grateful that I have a coat to wear today. I'm at work right now, and it is freezing and windy outside. I'm so grateful to be blessed with a warm coat and a warm scarf, to fight this freezing weather. I know that so many are not so lucky, and I would be an icicle without this jacket.

3. I'm grateful for the free food I get at work. At my job, there's a buffet-style cafeteria that employees can eat at for free. I'm grateful that I can each as much food as I want for free. It's a wonderful thing that my employer provides us with food, and it saves me so much money. Also, the cooks there are amazing and always have a vegetarian option too.

4. I'm grateful for sleep. I haven't been getting much of it lately and last night I finally got home before 11pm, and went straight to sleep. It was fantastic, and this morning I feel so much more well-rested and ready for work, than my usual zombie-like state. I'm grateful that with classes wrapping up for this quarter, I'll have more time to sleep and renew my energy supplies. I'm grateful for sleep that is restful, rather than interrupted. I'm grateful that when I'm sleeping, and on the rare occasion that I have a dream, it's a happy dream. I'm grateful that I rarely have nightmares and am looking forward to many nights falling asleep with a good book in the coming weeks.

5. I'm grateful for creativity, and the ability to make something exist out of nothing. I'm grateful for the creative teachers I have that push me to make time for my work, my writing and art. These people push to me to learn, play, become inspired, break rules, and to let go.

6. I'm grateful for the smell of a brand new book, when it's fresh, new, unread, and totally yours.

7. I'm grateful for my bucket list. It pushes me to be more adevnturous and spontaneous with my time. It is based mostly in travel, and activites that push me, like skydiving and racing a car. I will complete all 100 things on that list before I kick the bucket.

8. I'm grateful for nights on friends' couches and porches. I love the quiet qualtiy of latenight conversations, when we talk about life, love, our futures, etc. There's no pretense, just a realxed way to enjoy one another's company.

9. I'm grateful for giant overstuffed chairs that I can curl up in with a book or my journal. When I get my own apartment, the first thing I'm buying is a soft gigantic chair.

10. I'm grateful for my records. I can be a bit of music snob and with my more than 150 vinyl record albums, I'm so grateful that I can be a bit nostalgic and listen to my favorite bands on vinyl, the way they were first released. I love the grit of vinyl and the sound is amazing.

Day Two/Three

1. I'm grateful for my drive to school every morning. I am lucky enough to drive by the gorgeous and powerful Pacific Ocean every morning, and there's nothing more calming than this drive. I'm put next to the gigantic and wide sea, and I feel small in the best possible way. It reminds me that whatever stuff I'm dealing with is insignificant when compared to the magnitude of God's creation of the sea.

2.I'm grateful for my brothers and sisters in Christ that push me past my comfort level, and cheer me on when I succeed. They rebuke me when I'm settling, and support me when I'm pushing through. I'm a very worried person by nature and I need these wonderful people to keep me grounded and to remind me that the Lord spoke this world into existence, and that my worries are futile and disrespectful to His plan. They remind me that, in Him, I don't have to worry.

3. I'm grateful for my mentor. She is so intelligent in her faith and helps guide me through the experiences of Christian womanhood. She helps me understand that perfection in that doesn't exist, but the continued pursuit of virtuous Christianity as a woman is the key. I'm not required anything more than to love the Lord and to love others as myself, and I need someone to remind me that everything else is simply an expression of my love of Christ, but are not a requirement. This doesn't mean that she lets me settle for a marginal and compromised walk, but that when I don't succeed in my endeavors, she reminds me of all the things I'm doing right to please Him. I'm grateful that everything she says to me is in love, and that she will tell me when I'm creating excuses and copping out. I'm grateful that every wise word that the Lord speaks through her, comes from a place of love, understanding, experience, and an immense Biblical knowledge. Thank you Lisa!

4. I'm grateful for my brothers in blood. Aside from our dad, they are two of the strongest men I know. They're charismatic, brilliant, hilarious, and I'm grateful that they love me regardless of the embarrassingly geeky things I do and say. We are bonded in a way that I hope my future children will one day experience. There is so much love between the three of us, that I know that regardless of where our adult lives take us, we will always be there for each other. They will always protect me and fight for me, even though I'm the oldest sibling. They know that they always have a cheerleader in me. I'm so grateful that they are succeeding in their lives, and that I'm around to see it. I'm grateful that they are growing into strong, capable, leaders as men, and yet have their own individual interests that I can share with them. I know that when we're all married and have our own families, we'll still make it a priority to continue through life together, that our families will be close. I'm so lucky to have brothers that I love beyond blood, but as people too.

5. I'm grateful for my health and the health of my loved ones. I know I need to exercise to solidify my health in later years, but I'm grateful that my family values health and eating well. They're supportive of my vegetarian/vegan eating habits, and celebrate it. My mother is amazing for continuing to pursue her own health, ensuring that she'll be around for a long time.

6.I'm grateful for my IPod. This one sounds funny, but I truly use my IPod every single day. If my life could have a soundtrack I'd jump at the opportunity. Music is in my heart, my blood, and my mind all day long every day, and I'm grateful that I have a device that allows me to take my music everywhere I go and keep it with me always. It allows me to share this with others and gives me therapy in many senses.

7. I'm grateful for my nighttime drives. When I have a lot on my mind, I get in my car and drive up the coast, with the music blasting. So this item is loaded, I'm grateful that I have a car that can take me on these drives, again I'm grateful for my IPod with all my music and the ocean to drive next to. I'm grateful that I've discovered this method of clearing my mind, and often process the happenings of my life through happy or sad songs, through smiles and tears, and prayers for help, for strength, and of thanks to God. These drives have helped my mental sanity time and time again, some people paint or run or play music, I drive.

8. I'm grateful for my typewriter. I write on it, and even when my fingers hurt from hitting the sticky keys so hard. It gives me a dose of nostalgia, a link to decades ago when life was simpler. I'm grateful that I have a device that allows my to write without the temptation of the internet, Facebook, or any other attachments to the outside world of communication. Because it is a solitary writing instrument, I'm able to focus on my writing and really express my inner mental cerebral articulations. I've found recently that as humans today, we're always connected to other people, through cell phones, IPhones, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. and sometimes it's important to isolate oneself from that world. I'm grateful that my typewriter allows me to do just that.

9.I'm grateful for my nice big warm bed, that I can renew my energy comfortably there. When life becomes crazy and stressful and exhausting, I'm grateful to have a place where I can go and recharge my batteries so to speak. I'm grateful that I can be warm there, when so many people aren't privy to this luxury. I often take this for granted, and I have to remember that I am lucky to have a nice comfortable place to rest, that not every person has a bed to sleep in.

10. I'm grateful for my education. I'm a senior at a UC and have been experiencing extreme "senioritis," meaning that I have a tendency to ditch my classes or forego doing the reading for class in exchange for more frivolous endeavors. I haven't been giving my education all I've got and have recently been feeling the compromise of that. I'm so grateful that I am able to attend college, and that I have a platform to succeed with from there. I know that I need to treat my education better and in my last quarter, I'm going to give it all I've got and make it count. I'm grateful that my parents have given me this opportunity and I refuse to squander it.

Day One

(in no particular order)

1. I'm grateful for my house, that I don't have to worry about having a warm place to live, and a loving family to come home to.

2. I'm grateful for my Bible, that it offers me endless amounts of wisdom on a plethora of issues, and that it's my tangible knowledge source from God.

3. I'm grateful for Kiki, that as one of my best friends, she pushes me to let go and enjoy life, and also to be comfortable alone as well.

4. I'm grateful for my ocean view, that from my home, I can see one of God's insane creations and find peace in the sunsets of each day.

5. I'm grateful for music, that I can absolutely drift away in it, praise the Lord with it, and dance like a mental patient to it. It gives me freedom.

6. I'm grateful for my morning cup of coffee, that it helps energize me for the day and the ritual repetition of it helps keep me balanced in a sort of twisted way.

7. I'm grateful for my journal, that I can mark down my emotions and thoughts, without burdening others with them. I'm also grateful that through writing, I'm able to look back and see my failures and regrets, but my growth and change as well.

8. I'm grateful for my cats Layla and Sarge, that they calm me down and force me to slow down, stop and laugh hysterically. If only I could find their level of peace in doing absolutely nothing.

9. I'm grateful for my parents, that they allow me to live, and push me to thrive. The list of reasons for my gratitude to toward them would be endless and probably fill this blog, so to shorten things, I'm grateful for the kind of parents they are, that they take care of me and my brothers, they take care of each other and their marriage, and that they promote a bond between the five of us that I'd be lost without. I'm grateful that they're my examples, as adults, as a man and a woman, as a married couple, as a father and a mother, as successful business people, and as wonderful people who simply care more about their family and others, than themselves. I'm grateful that they're not perfect and don't try to be.

10. I'm grateful for this forum, that I can have a place and a way to force myself to stop, be present, and express gratitude for the things in my life that are amazing and that I all too often overlook.

New Direction...

In an effort to become more present and all around happier, I've been looking for pointers. Some people say exercise, others say get up earlier, but most often I told to be grateful, to find appreciation in the mundanity of life, because each and every day, as cliche as it sounds, it truly a gift. So, I'm gonna try to remember the joy and gratitude I feel in my life as it is each day. Ten things I'm grateful for every day

Own a Law Firm that Merges International Corporations

"If there was no chance for me to fail and money was not an obstacle then I would want to own a law firm for merging international corporations. It would be the perfect setting for me to meet successful, smart professionals. My job would also require a lot of traveling... Not only will I be exposed to new cultures and ideas, but I could also learn new languages. Plus even if money was an obstacle, I would not need to worry. I hope this helps"

(Originally written on bright orange paper)

Kindergarten Teacher

"I would want to be a kindergarten teacher. I want to plant the seed of education in the children's mind. Little kids always put a smile on my face, so why not hang out with them all day? I want to teach little kids that education is important and the foundation of where and by who kids learn this from is just as important. If I show to kids that education is fun they will strive to achieve."

Join the Peace Corps or Teach Overseas and Write

"If I could do anything without fear of failure or money problems I would join the Peace Corps or some other non-profit, and work overseas as a teacher while writing about my travels at the same time. I think a person's life gains meaning through their impact on others and I'd like to be someone who inspires others to be more curious about the beautiful world we live in."