Top 10 Things I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving

As we gather to celebrate another Thanksgiving, I feel as if this is another year where being reflective has much more meaning than it has in the past. While I'm sure many of you have taken more than your fair share of hours to sit and be grateful, my time for reflection is 365 days a year, I can't help but think the more you hear the unemployment rate rise by another percent, the more your hand rests under your chin and you sigh. Well here's a little secret....I do it too. So let's begin with the Top 10 Things I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving:

10. Loyalty- Now you may be scratching your head but hear me out. Loyalty is hard to come by today when people are working and doing for themselves. The "me me me" attitude has overshadowed camaraderie, working together, and sticking together. I'm thankful that the people I work with and the friends I have are all about sticking together and not throwing one another under the bus.

9. Optimism- It takes a lot of work to consistently find the silver lining in every situation and while I haven't been perfect in always being 100% positive, I've tried my best to always think that there's a reason for everything. So far, I think it's done me well to keep smiling.

8. Wisdom- I've seen a lot and have encountered life changing moments and while the majority of what I've seen and encountered were because of what you all may call "mistakes", I call them unnecessary/necessary events. What made them unnecessary was their timing but what made them essential was that I was able to see past the event and analyze it for what it really was. So, I haven't made mistakes but I've made some unnecessary/necessary happenings.

7. Opportunity- The opportunity to love, be loved, and blessed is sometimes a luxury that many can't afford. I make it my mission in life to exhaust all energy to give back. I'm thankful for the energy I find to do this.

6. Health- I couldn't exhaust energy to give back if I didn't take care of my immune system. It's quite the routine eating healthy, getting 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and I try to achieve this and am I'm proud of the results. So, I'm thankful that my body has survived the chicken pox when I was 5 and continue to survive the common colds I get. Yes, I've never gotten the flu, broken any bones, etc so I hope to continue that streak.

5. Education- Those who know me well can tell you how I am a champion of education. All I talk about is how to reform and revamp the school system and how I'm working on writing a proposal to Congress. It's clear that my passion for all is the ability to succeed in an academic setting. I was blessed to have received a great education from kindergarten to college and I wish that for ALL children.

4. Shelter- Now while this may be #4, it still holds high importance. I'm thankful for the fact that I can rest and wake up in the same bed...in the same apartment that I've known for nearly 22 years. Many can't say they had such stability but whatever the situation...refer back to #9 and find your silver lining.

3. Religion- The past 2 years have shaken the spiritual and religious core of folks. Having to make decisions between paying the rent/mortgage and feeding the family really made people question their level of faith and belief in God. I've had my moments where my faith packed up and left and I'm proud my faith returned. I know without my belief in God and my spirituality that I would be completely broken.

2. Family- I'm certainly not a one dimensional woman, there are definitely many angles that make up who I am. I attribute that to my family. I'm thankful for their loving, caring, blunt, outrageous, and downright sincere nature. Without that array of qualities to choose from, I would be bland and boring...eww those words are nasty.

1. Love- There's no way I could have the ability to reflect on anything if I didn't reserve a huge chunk of heart for love. The ability to love and in turn be loved back is indescribable. You truly have to experience it to begin to help me define it. There's no greater feeling than telling someone "I love you" and having them saying it back and hearing the genuine emotion. I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

Well there you guys have it. These are things I'm grateful for. I would love to hear what you guys are grateful for this Thanksgiving...after you find the energy from stuffing your faces of course.

XOXO,
Whitney