Day 6: Books

I've always loved books.
I've always loved the smell of books, and the calming effect it seems to have on me. (Go smell one before you judge me, please)
I've always loved getting lost in a story and escaping for a little while.
But since coming to college books have taken on a new meaning and played a different role in my life.  Not only are college books expensive, but the material they teach seems to suck time and stamp out all possibility of me reading the books I, myself, choose.  I don't read for fun as often as I used to, or as often as I would like anymore, and perhaps that has increased my gratitude for books and novels and authors who painstakingly and diligently sit down to write them--gosh knows I never could. 
It may sound silly, but books have gotten me through some rough patches in my life.  They've allowed me to outrun, whether for good or for bad, my own problems, if only for a short amount of time, and let me exist in a different world.
So, thank you, books.
I do still enjoy reading my textbooks most of the time--particularly since I'm taking more classes for my major this semester--they provide great insights and tidbits of info that I love finding out about.  BUT I'll always love the tales and escapades more (and biographies...I've recently discovered my fondness of them).

"FEW THINGS LEAVE A DEEPER MARK ON A READER THAN THE FIRST BOOK THAT FINDS ITS WAY INTO HIS HEART.  THOSE FIRST IMAGES, THE ECHO OF THE WORDS WE THINK WE HAVE LEFT BEHIND, ACCOMPANY US THROUGH OUR LIVES AND SCULPT A PLACE IN OUR MEMORY, TO WHICH, SOONER OR LATER-NO MATTER HOW MANY BOOKS WE READ, HOW MANY WORLDS WE DISCOVER, OR HOW MUCH WE LEARN OR FORGET-WE WILL RETURN."

-CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON

Day 5: The Morning Sky

I've always loved mornings, but let's get something straight before I go any further: I'm really not a morning person.  I really only ever get up "early" when I must, and when given the opportunity, I'll usually always sleep in.  I just WISH I was a morning person.  
I don't know what it is about the morning, maybe it's the promise of 24 more hours to do and be whatever you want in, maybe it's the notion that you can make that day exactly what you want to, but something about the morning sky reflects that, for me.
The sun shines a little differently in the morning, as if its trying to infuse the hope of the day into the very objects it shines upon. So, along with my gratitude towards the morning sky and the hope it brings, I'm going to make a resolution--get up earlier. See that morning sky that I love so much more often.
The sky alight with the morning sun is exhilarating and a bit inspiring--it seems to breathe life into my lungs, and to motivate me to be active and verb-like during the day, alerting me of the possibilities each hour can hold, and the feeling of accomplishment that could be my companion once the sun sets.
Too often I think that I do not have enough time in my day, until that one day when I do manage to get up early. I realize the productiveness that seems to shadow me through the morning hours is a great gift when compared to the small price of rolling out of my warm bed a bit sooner than desired.
So here's to the morning and the sky that keeps watch overhead--it is a natural beauty I will never tire of viewing.

Day 4: Leaves

Unfortunately there aren't any vibrant fall leaves this time of year, because that's the state in which I appreciate them the most.
I don't know a soul who doesn't enjoy the colorful leaves of Autumn, or watching kids jump into a pile of them as a reward for the raking they've done. They are by far their most majestic when their array of colors replaces the uniform green of the summer, and I've been spoiled by the unrivaled New England fall for all my life.
It's the change of leaves with every season, though, that I've come to realize my gratitude for.  Without the repetitious slow fade from an unfurling bud to the brown crinkles that float to the winter ground, I'd get increasingly bored of my surroundings.  I love the fluidity of nature, the never-ending changes that promote a constancy all the same, and the way it so symbolically mirrors life.
I love that I live, and have always lived, in a place that has all four seasons; I can't imagine permanently relocating anywhere else.  I'm a four season kind of girl, any less will not suffice.
I'm grateful for the inkling of life that leaves promise in the spring, the shade they provide in the summer, the scenes they create in the fall, and the renewal they foreshadow during winter--I'm just grateful for leaves.

Day 3: Happiness

Finding happiness.  Isn't that the never-ending journey that every human being embarks upon in their lifetime?  Some start when they are young, some older, some find they need to be redirected every once in a while, or a lot, but we all seek it.  
I've come to learn, mostly from the wonderful examples I am blessed to call friends and family, that the illusive "happiness" really is just that--a never ending JOURNEY. True happiness comes in the small joys along the way--like winning five bucks on a scratch off.  True happiness is our willingness to appreciate and notice the small rarities, or the everyday happenings, as precious gifts.  The error of over-looking these is all too common, and I'm grateful that I have been taught--and shown--how and why to love the little things. 
There are so many quotes I've jotted down about happiness, I could smother you with them. But I think I'll settle for this simple one:

WHILE IN THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS ONE SHOULD STOP, AND BE HAPPY

I'm grateful that, right now, I'm happy.

Day 2: Smiles

I would like to point out the fact that smiles, I believe, are underrated.
Not the forced grin that graces everyone's face when someone behind the camera yells "cheese," but the real deal. 
What better medicine is there than provoking the corners of a kid's mouth to turn up and hear a giggle escape? Or how about that smile that lights up someone's face when you see them for the first time in too long a time? Even the smile from a perfect stranger promotes a sense of human togetherness--it may not be the full fledged smile that crinkles the eyes, but it's warm, and comforting. 
So, I am grateful for smiles.
There is a framed poem in my room, one of it's stanzas saying:

...the hug can break the language barrier

and make your travels so much merrier...

I'd argue that the smile is even more advantageous.  Hugs are great, too. I love hugs. But a smile is so much easier to pull out.  Everyone--race, culture, language aside--understands a simple smile.  It is happiness, laughter, enjoyment, friendship, well-wishes...any or all of the above, and more. The expression of a smile is limitless, but always, if it is sincere, it means well to whomever it is bestowed upon.  And I'm grateful for the fact that I can smile at someone, and they'll know just what I mean.

Day 1: Favorite Food

I'm grateful for grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I'm grateful for the rainy days that make it that much more delicious.
I'm grateful that my Daddy can make it quite unlike anybody else can.
I'm grateful for those ingenious people who decided to put bread and cheese together, slap some butter on it, and throw it in a pan.
But most of all I'm grateful for the simple fact that I HAVE food.  Not in the cliche "clean-your-plate-because-there-are-starving-kids-in-Africa-who-would-kill-for-your-scraps" kind of way, but with the very real knowledge that some people cannot feed themselves or their families grilled cheese and soup without wondering where their next meal will come from.
And it's so great that something so elementary and necessary to our life as humans--eating to obtain critical nutrients and energy--can be so enjoyable.  We NEED food, so it doesn't necessarily have to taste good for us to eat it--but it does (hopefully).  We NEED food, so it doesn't have to be a cheery social affair in order for us to partake--but it often is.  And I'm thankful for all that, and the happy memories that accompany those simple gifts.

Gratitude

I hate to admit it, but, recently, I've fallen into the time-waster that is Pinterest. Yes, it wastes my time. Yes, it's pretty much pointless, other than the fact that it makes me happy--so I'm desperately holding onto the idea that it is not completely worthy of all the eye-rolls it gets, since it does bring a smile to my face.

BUT

Combined with the fact that I received an AWESOME new camera from my wonderful mother for Christmas/my birthday, I am embarking upon something of an adventure--a photo challenge.  I may be attempting the impossible here, requiring a post everyday for an entire month; I don't have the best track record. But, I really think I can do this one.

It's a photo challenge focusing (ha!) on gratitude.  I realize that I missed the month of thanksgiving by about 2 months, but there is never an inopportune time to be grateful, right?  And what better way to kick off the new year than by reminding yourself of all the myriad reasons to be thankful in this crazy life?  Maybe then gratitude can weave itself into the fabric of my 2012 right from the very beginning.

There is so much to be thankful for, which sounds quite trite, I understand, but it is a truth that applies to all, everyday, everywhere.  Gratitude is a perspective, an outlook, an attitude; it's not what is in your life, but how you choose to view what is in your life--I hope this mini-endeavor will help open my eyes to all the small--or colossal--aspects of my life that I often gaze over as I catapult headlong towards more trivial things.

January 2012 is fast approaching, so before this year ends and next year begins, I thought I'd make a short list of the things I'm most grateful in 2011:


MY FAMILY--we aren't your typical Mormon family, and I've finally come to appreciate that fact. I like    being different, I like the perspective it gives me, and I love the members of my family, and I wouldn't have them if my family was what I once thought I wanted it to be.
MY FRIENDS--These wonderful people make my everyday something more than I could make it myself.  They help me to catch a glimpse of my own worth by loving, and sometimes even participating, in my insanity.
MY ROOMMATES--They fall under my 'friends' category, however, I believe they deserve their own special thanks. These girls have provided me with an uplifting, happy, and fun place to call home.  Without them, it would simply be an empty shell.
MY HAIR- I know, it sounds odd, but since my (somewhat misguided) decision to chop it all off, I've realized how much I love it.  It drives me nuts, and it's hard to take care of, but I miss it, and am grateful to have thick locks.
BYU--Cliche. But I'm thankful for school not because of my education (though I am thankful for that, too), but because of the person it's allowed me to become, and the amount of growing into my own skin that I've done this past year there.