Thankful For Every Breath

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is a little bittersweet for me, spending the holiday alone. On the other hand, it's still a great time to celebrate the fact that I have so many things (and people!) to be thankful for. In no particular order...I'm thankful for my wonderful family, who put up with me for so many years and without whom I wouldn't here at Virginia Tech. I'm thankful for an amazing boyfriend, and though he can't be here today, and has spent much of the last year away, has been unbelievably supportive of me with all the craziness of my life and loves me for me, even when that's difficult. I'm thankful for my friends back home, who helped me get through college with some amazing memories and help me keep my head straight when things get a little crazy. I'm thankful for my little fishy roommate, Fission, for keeping me company and surviving the harrowing journey from Christiansburg back in September.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to be studying here at Tech, and the assistantship that kind of fell in my lap, but is and will be crucial to helping me get through graduate school. I'm thankful for all of my professors and classmates, for sharing their knowledge and wisdom so that we can all learn and grow in new ways. I'm thankful for a home where I can be safe and warm, and for the fact that I'm never left wanting.

I'm thankful for all the servicemen and women who can't be with their families tonight, and for their families, whose sacrifices allow us to enjoy our freedoms.

I'm thankful for the Catholic campus ministry here at Tech, for helping students like myself grow in their faith, and providing us with a community of love and understanding. They've helped me through some rough times, especially the events of a week ago.

There's plenty more that I am thankful for, but the list would go on forever. I've been blessed in so many ways.

Day 25. The last book I read, for school or leisure.

Hah! Reading books for fun? What is that?

I've read twenty-some books for my classes so far this semester. That doesn't include any research I've done, or the articles I've read for one class. Just a few more books left at least...and a ton of research.

The book I'm currently reading is called Triple Helix. It's about how universities, industry and government function independently but often work together to innovate (or at least that's what I got so far). It's actually really interesting. But I won't go into it here, because not everyone's into that sort of thing.

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday, and hope that everyone who has traveled makes it home safely, with how the weather's been acting in some places. God bless!