Grateful: 365

I typically don't make New Year's Resolutions. I think they are pointless and prone to failure. Seeing as I probably have a failure/high expectations complex of some sort, I tend to avoid things that I think I'll fail at, because I hate hate hate failing.

The past 3 months have been difficult. They've been really, really hard. I lost a grandparent and a boyfriend in the same week. I've been unspeakably angry some days. I've been frustrated and upset, and generally living on an emotional rollercoaster. Seeing as how I despise amusement parks and coasters in general, feeling like I'm living on one has been incredibly awful.

Luckily, I have some inspiration. One has been reading about and following the life of Katie, the primary blogger behind Marriage Confessions. Katie's been having a rough time, too. Way rougher than I've had. The manner - the sheer grace - in which she handles her issues is amazing, and gives me the confidence that I too can hang in there, and learn something about myself along the way.

The other inspiration has been my friend Mara's daily grateful statuses on Facebook. (Mara is incidentally the person who introduced me to Marriage Confessions.) So I decided to do it, too. Didn't quite get started on it on New Year's Day, but better late than never. Every day we post something that we're grateful for. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering in its amazingness. One day I was grateful for oatmeal. By contrast, today I am grateful for supportive supervisors.

Every morning, I take a few minutes to count my blessings. And it makes all the difference in my day. I'm happier from the get go, because I've taken a moment at the beginning to reflect, rather than at the end of the day, when I'm tired and want nothing more than for my skin care routine to magically take care of itself.

I am truly blessed. Through hard work, perseverance, a lot of love and support from my friends and family, and a dash of luck, I've managed to successfully carve out a niche for myself at a world-class higher ed institution. I have a voice with which to make music. I have a strong sense of self, and I've learned how to play well with most others. I love my job more than ever, and even when my days truly suck, there are a dozen people I know I can call for an infusion of support and love.

So this year, I am grateful. Every day. For everything you've done for me, and everything you ever will. I love you all.