i was inspired by miss tree over at out on a limb to make a list of all that i am thankful for. because you know, this being that 'thankful time of year'... i guess its a good time to give some where its due.

1. my family because for what its worth... i have a lot to thank them for. sometimes its for the support they've given me (usually materially, a few times emotionally). sometimes for setting great examples and teaching great lessons (mostly on what not to do, but sometimes a good one sneaks in there every once in while). but at the end of the day... i may not like them all that much, but i do love them.

2. my friends for being boundless troves of inspiration. for telling me about myself when i need to hear it. for listening to me when i need to be heard. and for loving me despite all the ways i can bug the shit out of them.

3. my opportunities, because even though i dont always take advantage of them, throughout my life ive had the opportunity to do and see and learn some pretty amazing things.

4. my education and by saying that i dont mean all the time ive spent in a classroom. i mean life education... the kind that is gained through experience. a lot of it for me came when i was at college... and i value the social education i recieved there much more than the book knowledge i gained... lord knows i use it a whole lot more than any of that cognitive neuropsych i was forced to study.

5. my youth both mentally and physically. sometimes i get laughed at by various people because i can act like an overgrown 5 year old at times. but i really like that about myself. i like the fact that i can be entertained by cute stuffed animals and sing happily along with disney movies and then flip into an intelligent conversation on the prison industrial complex at the drop of a hat. life is fun. and being grown shouldnt rob you of play time.

6. self-expression from all the poetry ive been writing to everything and everyone on surreal.words... if i didnt have venues through which it vent my thoughts, i think i would go crazy

7. teaching... specifically, for each and every student ive ever taught. and yes, i am going back to it. i think the greatest thing about being a teacher is that you are also being as student as well. you learn so much everyday its amazing. and really... absolutely nothing beats the look on a students face when you see that glimmer of hope... when they get a taste of pride. its one of the most beautiful things ive ever seen.

8. my car which i didnt have until just a few years ago... and as soon as i got behind the wheel i understood the freedom that comes with driving. im not thankful for it because its cute or because its fast... only because it gets me where i want to go... wherever that may be. sometimes i have no destination in mind and its enough to just drive. it calms me. helps me escape. and i love it for that.

9. New Orleans for teaching me more about myself than i'll ever realize. sometimes you have to reach the bottom so you can see what the top looks like. and for me, that was the bottom. i was never as disconnected from myself as i was the years i spent there... but then again, maybe i was never closer. there, i was me... with absolutely no sense of boundaries and self-respect. and i never want to be that person again.

10. target because really, i love that store.

and now im about to start listing random crap so i'll stop while im still remotely being serious.