Be Thankful.

November 19^th- 25^th:

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.
-Arthur Rubinstein

What am I thankful for?

My family. We have gone through a battlefield of tears and other life adversity but because of love and faith we stand together today, holding hands and never letting go. Life without family is nothing to me.

My better half. You help me to experience really living, really going down the path of adventure and I hope our adventure never ends. Even though we are miles and miles away I still feel your love each day I wake up with the sun. We have a connection I used to not believe in. I am thankful for the north woods and because I caught your eye that day.

My friends. For my childhood friends, high school friends, Peace Corps friends, and all every other friend who I have crossed life paths with. The greatest thing about meeting a new person is you can learn so much if you only give the moment enough time to unravel into greatness. I am thankful I love meeting new people.

I am thankful to have crossed the line into my second year of Peace Corps service.

Because I now understand the beauty in change.

For tuna, wheat bread, bananas, local vegetables, and water because without you I am not sure how I would survive here.

For my French press. I can’t survive without coffee either. I found my morning love again.

For the quotes, “Even though we don’t got money, I am so in love with you honey.” This is mine and Joey’s song. It is constantly playing in my head as a reminder that love is more life changing than money will ever be.

Lastly, I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful for every breath I take. I am thankful that I allowed my true spirit to sore, to take on a world challenge, to extend my other hand, to experience something I would not understand unless I got the opportunity to live in it. 

Just when I thought I could not be more amazed? I am more amazed. Emerson, he is a born leader and coach although I was not completely sure he truly believed it. Last week, I was walked home from the market and saw him. He joined me. He started asking me about college and if I thought it was possible for him to continue playing Ultimate Frisbee in college. I looked at him, almost screamed but I caught myself, and in a loud voice said, “Absolutely!” He is my leader of the pack. Other students are creating a school newspaper right now and one of the articles is about Frisbee. They called Emerson into the room. He answered every question with enthusiasm and accurateness. I was amazed that he really read every sentence in the Frisbee handbook I had printed off for him. Now, mastering something is the first sign of a great teacher. No wonder his athletes are improving and mastering the sport at full speed. Watching them play you would never know they were beginners. Although, I wrestle with the thought of calling them beginners anymore. This week at Sports Club I watched them go through these new running and throwing drills. Before, they would use drills that I taught them in the first weeks. I had never seen the drills before though, these were new ones. I have not had time to ask him where they came from but that is not really critical in understand that this students of mine is an amazing one. He believes in himself, I know it now.

I am thankful that I found something to commit my time to here that benefits my students and community while simultaneously holding passion power in my life.

The interesting thing about now is that I am living one of the greatest years of my life all over again. I get to experience things that sent me down the spiral of awe all over again, the festivals, the bike rides, the sunsets, the laughs, the school celebrations, the seasonal fruits, and beyond. So far, to my amazement and somewhat disbelief I think the second time around has been better. What happens when something that you did not think could get any better does? It proves that in life, anything is possible. I have been reflecting a lot because I am comparing certain events of today to last year. The events have not changed much, but I have. I can speak Tagalog more confidently, I feel more alive because I exercise again, I have built friendships with last year’s strangers, I have old friends and new friends, I feel more comfortable, I feel more at home. I think these feelings are a result of the success of fully integrating me in a place that it extremely different from where I was born.