My 26th Birthday & 26 Things I’m Grateful For in Each Year

Apr 27

Below are 26 things I am grateful for in my 26 years of life. As I get older, it's apparent that "I," the one whose watching my life and actively participating (at times), is only a tiny sliver of what makes up me.

The other part of "me" is a culmination of habits, ideas, beliefs, and values directly influenced by my environment; my family, friends, teachers, coaches, players, enemies, and peers I see every day. I think I got a pretty good starting place in my 26 years. For that, I am grateful. Here are 26 years and one thing I'm grateful for in each year.

Winning the lottery. I landed in a loving family and a free country.
All my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents I inherited.
Meeting my best friends/cousins at KCARC.
Dreamy nights of catching toads and bugs at my grandparents.
The joy of blocks, drawing, and nap time.
The teachers who cultivated my creativity.
Skinning my toe at Rainbow Beach and consequently not going on the All-Star baseball tour
Insanely large family get-togethers with my cousins and all the crazy things we did; big wheels, water beds, the slide, etc.
Something
The state park trips I went on with my family where I biked, swam, hiked, and explored with friends.
The summer, my grandpa took the time to teach me tennis, followed by milkshakes from DQ.
The decision to start a journal after my saint of a Great Grandma passed away.
My creative expeditions of creating movies with cousins; 101 Ways to Kill Your Brother, Maricans, Maricans 2, Tricked, etc
The joy of riding dirtbikes at the "land" and elsewhere.
The feeling of starting high school sports and so many new things.
The work ethic that demanding sports like basketball revealed.
A place to work and form kinship.
My classmates since kindergarten and the ways they impacted me.
An offer by my uncle Doug to coach a tennis team.
Reading the book "The Mindful Athlete" by George Mumford thus the beginning of my meditation/mindfulness practice.
Re-Discovering books
The lessons of depression and anxiety.
Workshops, experiences, and teachers that opened my mind.
Peers and mentors who have opened doors for me to be and do more.
Strong examples to model my faith after.
My vocation to witness and share others' stories.