The Post-Thanksgiving Post

I sometimes think that I'm thankful for only the things I think I deserve, that thankfulness is something I pay lip service to rather than something I genuinely feel. I use gratitude as justification, something along the lines of, "Listen, I know that I have a beautiful and wonderful life- I just don't have that thing that I really want yet," like saying that I understand how good I have it makes it okay that I'm still not satisfied. Justification and Thanksgiving- the two times that I feel obligated to express thankfulness.

So, in light of that cynical yet accurate representation of who I am as a person, here's a list of things I know I should be thankful for and cause me to shrug and say, "I can't complain," when asked about my life:

(1) I have lived in beautiful places. I won't make you jealous with glamour shots of Chapel Hill and Edinburgh, but, like, my life is lovely on a daily basis. And for three years, my job was to drive around the prettiest state on God's green earth. And also, we live in a universe that has stuff like this:

The Pinwheel Galaxy, featured on APOD

(2) I went to undergraduate for free. The Carolina Covenant is a gem.

(3) I can read and write and I spend my days in a place where I can spend every day reading and writing and that is valued. I can't imagine leading a life where that isn't true, that's how fundamental it is to me.

(4) I have wonderful friends who fly across oceans to see me and make videos for me and skype with me and send me random pictures of funny things while affirming my existence and a wonderful family who care about me even though I'm not there. I also have wonderful friends who are here who listen to me and care about me and give me good people to spend time with.

(5) Netflix. And online music. Honestly, the fact that I live in a world where I can experience the joy and wonder of other people's imagination and talent through my computer screen and have my life improved by that should be enough for me to be on my knees thanking the powers that be. I mean, did you see Alabama Shakes on The Late Show?

Brittany Howard is a gift from above. 

Ugh. Why are there so many nice things in the world? Why?