Facebook. It almost physically pains me to say I'm very grateful for Facebook, considering how many times I've thought about deleting it for various reasons. Facebook is frustrating, time wasting, annoying, and jealousy-inducing. However, I am so grateful for it. Without it, honestly I'm not sure I would have had the guts to move across the country. I would have been so sad to leave everybody I've ever known and basically just drop out of their lives. It's let me keep in touch with friends from high school, college, HOBY, etc. without being in the same state, or even same country. I've been able to stay in their lives and keep them in mine. I've been able to share my adventures, crowd source questions/opinions, get recommendations, keep up with friends, and basically let people know I'm still alive! Not to mention staying in contact with HOBY groups. I can't begin to count the amount of laughs I've gotten from our various groups (Matteson Family Summit, The Business, Morning Motion Club, plus a ridiculous amount of others). Also, seeing HOBY alumni thrive and do amazing things is so worth keeping my Facebook. It would suck to not know about Morgan's Girl Up and all the incredible things she's doing with that, all of our South Canadians and their Hospice swim, or to miss all the inspiration in our Motivators group. They make me laugh, they inspire me, and I'm grateful social media is around at least so we can stay in touch.
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| Can't imagine not being able to keep up with these fools (and all the other HOBsters)! Photo courtesy of Heather :) |
Kindness. I have kind people all around me, and I try to be kind to others. From holding the door for someone to letting someone at the grocery store with only a few items go ahead of me to paying for the person behind me in a drive-thru. A lot of kindness has been shown to me throughout my life and I try to pay it back when I can. Picking up a piece of litter on the sidewalk. Leaving a few quarters behind at the car wash. Tipping 100% on a small bill. It makes me feel good, even if I never see the person benefitting from my kindness. I'd like to say it's selfless, but it puts a smile on my face, too, so unfortunately I don't think it's completely selfless. I hope it brightens their day, especially if somebody isn't having the best time. I've been there, where I've been down and out and just something small has completely lifted my spirits and reminded me of all the good things in the world. A lollipop moment relative, if you will. I've been offered help from strangers, received surprise postcards/birthday presents/art/etc, had friends show up at the airport with signs and gifts, and had friends/family donate to causes that I believe in to support me (sometimes without ever telling me), among SO many other examples. I've definitely received my fair share of unsolicited help and kindness, and I like to keep that in mind and try to give back a little bit of the kindness that's been shown to me throughout my life. I'm grateful for kindness I've been shown, and the ability to show kindness to friends and strangers.
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| Surprise postcard! |
Mail. I think it started in college, where I made up the saying "Mail - the 3rd best letter you can get in college." And now that my mail is mostly made up of catalogs and advertisements, I am super grateful for any mail from actual people I get. I love the random postcards I get from friends that I don't expect. The unexpected paintings. The Something Store surprises. I try to return the favors and send out random postcards/art/friendship bracelets/Something Store stuff as well, and it's always fun to hear somebody be excited and surprised about receiving it unexpectedly. But if you just think about it - how cool is the mail? I just drop something in a mailbox and it gets shipped across the country (or lost I guess... womp womp) and shows up at my friend's doorstep a few days later. Thank you to everybody who's sent me surprised mail, and to everybody else - I accept surprise mail!!!
Thanks for tuning in. Hopefully I can come up with some more exciting stuff for tomorrow :)
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