Thankfulness

There's a big thing on Facebook during November where you post one thing you're thankful for each day, for 30 [40] days. I started this, but realized quite quickly that I was having trouble posting one thing each day. Oftentimes I couldn't think of something or I just wasn't on Facebook, or whatever. Either way, it's still a good thing to reflect on things you are thankful {grateful} for, especially during the Thanksgiving season, and especially after a year of many changes in my life. Instead of 30 or 40 different things, I decided to come up with 15 {my room number is 375, 3+7+5}. Eliza and Billie, feel free to play along! (P.S. The number 0 counts as 3. Ex: 400 = 4+3+3 = 10)
Here we go!
1. I am thankful for my family, especially my parents, aunts, and uncles.There have been lots of ups and downs and changes over the year, but they've supported me in all my endeavors, projects, and goals. They're always willing to talk/listen whenever I call them, and they're really good at being rational when I'm not.

My drumline friends are awesome!

2. I'm thankful for my Iowa/Nebraska friends. I means so much to have people who have known me for years and that I have known for years that I can have fun with, have heart to hearts with, or just spend awesome quality time together. I'm glad that we can stay connected!
3. I'm thankful for the friends I have made at college so far, through my floor, The Navigators, and classes,
too. I continue to be surprised as how college is such a fast track to friendship. In general, if you're doing something with a group of people, like the Barn Bash I went to for Navs, lots of people will introduce themselves and be more than happy to strike up a conversation with you! For me, it was almost overwhelming (in the best way possible!) and I'm still playing catch up with remembering names of people I've met!
4. I'm thankful for the sweet older ladies in the dining hall. They're much better about "breaking the portion rules" than the young student whippersnappers. For example, today at lunch,  when my 1 scoop of Riggatoni with meatballs didn't have any meatballs, she continued to fish around until she got me some!

This was on the first night that she moved in.

5. I'm thankful for my roommate! Miranda is super great, and really the best roommate I could have asked for! We share many of the same interests/disinterests, are both big on studying, and we do a lot of fun things together when we aren't. For example, on Wednesday night, we watched The Rescuers. Such a sweet movie! I'd never seen it before! We experimented with peanut butter and Ramen (we live on the edge!), and we do things like go to Walmart and buy a brick!
6. I am thankful for music! Playing or listening, it is  a BIG part of my life! I especially love playing the piano!
7. I'm thankful for my sister! We're super close and I miss her a lot while I'm here at college! It made up for it a little bit when I surprised her by coming home for the weekend and when she first saw me, she started bawling. She was very happy!
8. I'm thankful for those cool God moments where you've been praying about something (worries) and then you pick up your book by Max Lucado and read the next chapter which just so happens to be about the exact same thing!
9. I'm thankful for all of my teachers from High School. I feel so prepared for College, and I credit it to all of their dedication and commitment. I feel bad for the other students I see who didn't have people that cared about them as much as all of my teachers did.
10. I'm thankful for my church families, both at Grace and here at Laura Street. Everyone is genuinely concerned about me and is always asking about how I'm doing and how my family is. This is especially true of everyone here at Laura Street. Even though I've only really been here for 3 months, it doesn't feel like it because of how much everyone is always asking how I'm doing and how my dad is doing.
11. I'm thankful for my job. Even though it is certainly NOT my favorite thing to do, and I practically dread going to work, it was certainly been a really good crash course in people skills. It's not that I didn't have people skills before, it's just that this job has helped me get over not liking cold calling people and has also helped me be a little bit more comfortable asking people for money. Bot only a little. It's still uncomfortable. I will be done with my Cat Caller position next Thursday, but I applied for a job as a library assistant, which would be a position that is right up my ally! I've working in a library since 5th grade! I love libraries! It would be so cool to get this job!

12. I'm thankful that my mom taught me to sew and cook and bake and that both my parents helped me learn how to fix all sorts of things! These are very helpful skills, people! Also, it means that when I get married, my husband will not live off of Ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches every night! Huzzah for food! Huzzah for sewing!
13. I am thankful for sticky notes! Seriously! A list-maker's dream! (I know, I'm grasping at straws here, but all my other ones were really deep!
14. I am thankful that Northwest gives us all of our textbooks and a laptop too! A LOT less to worry about! I just walk into a room and grab a paper bag full of all of the books I need for the semester!
15. I am thankful for the mattress on my bed at home. I did NOT realize just HOW comfy it was until I went home last weekend! Oh my! And it doesn't make plastic-y wrinkly noises when I roll over or make any movement! So perfect! Ah!

There ya have it! Eliza and Billie, the ball's in your court!