Last night, Rob and I stood amongst 250,000 Chicagoans united in our quest for change. A sense of hope and love and strength filled the air. You couldn't help but notice how unified we all were, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, back-to-back -- cheering in a dawn of change. It's so easy to become negative and bully-ish during the political season, especially when it is one that happens to occur during a particularly stressful national and international climate. I tried to be diplomatic during this presidential election and I think that I was, for the most part. My passion for politics comes not only from the fundamentals my family taught me but from being someone who has had the privilege of experiencing life events well beyond my years. Most of the time, these experiences were drenched in heartache and sadness, however without these, who knows if I would be willing to work so hard for issues I know in my heart are necessary and right.
Today, when I left the gym at school, I walked past a small bulletin board that posed the question, "What are you thankful for?" Hokey at first glance but for some reason the question stuck with me. I realized that I have so much that I am thankful for, especially on the dawn of this new political era of hope and positivity. So here it is, my list of things I am thankful for in 2008:
1) Rob. He's my true companion. He stands beside me in life and supports my quest to make the most of our lives by contributing our talents to any community, local or national. He's also just really fun to be with.
2) My family. My family is huge because I don't define family as just my immediate family. Instead, I see my family as extended (my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins), marital (in-laws) and closest and dearest friends. I am lucky enough to have so many wonderful people in my life that I need to define what family means to me. A definite reason to give thanks.
3) My education. I cannot believe that I am finally in full nursing swing and that I am closing in on the finish line. My dad told me once that you know you are truly lucky when "your vocation is also your avocation." Nursing will give me the tools to go into the world and be "the change that I wish to see."
4) Chicago! I am so proud of our wonderful city and so happy to say that I feel at home in the Windy City. I think I've found my geographical niche. :)
5) President Obama. Since I can remember, civil rights issues and access have touched my heart, fueled my discussions and offered me endless amounts of topics for school papers and projects. To see a man that embodies most of my values and parlay them into a political movement is still unbelievable to me. I know that with Obama, more movement and change and progress is possible. Even with the overwhelming disappointment I feel regarding Arizona, Florida and California's ban on gay marriage that paints my Mom, Julie and a handful of my closest friends as citizens undeserving of a legalization of their love, I know that we are on the verge of a positive revolution.
There is so much more that I am thankful for...numbers 1-5 will never be enough to give my complete thanks. It would be easier to just give a plain old general thanks to everything but I feel like I do that too often; now it's my chance to give a wordy bit of thanks that will hopefully be a more consistent reminder to be aware of all that I have and why I count myself as unabashedly lucky.
