I'm Thankful For...

I'm a day late on this but it's better late than never. :) So, lack of posts is (once again) due to homework and then I lost my wifi and internet connection for a day but I'm back on and here to update y'all. By the way, I am doing this instead of my first final (haha, oops) so I'm going to try to finish it rather quickly. :)

I decided to write one thing I'm thankful for according to how old I am. So, since I am 26 years old, I am posting 26 things I'm grateful for. It wasn't easy but it was a good challenge. Got it? Okay; let's begin. :)

I'm thankful for:
1) God's love, mercy, and grace. Without it where would I (or, really, anyone) be?
2) The Eucharist. Do I really need to explain this one? :D
3) The Church. The longer I'm at my CINO college, the more I fall in love with the Church, her people and our Faith.
4) My Family. It's a given. ;)
5) My Friends. The majority of my friends are like adoptive brothers and sisters and I'm grateful for every one of them.
6) My Health. While I did spend 2.5 months with a horrible throat infection this summer and I've had three bad anxiety attacks this year, I've been so much healthier than I have in the last 5 years.
7) That I'm almost done at the CINO college. I'm a little over 5 months away from the graduation date. While I'm still trying to get my thesis proposal approved (more on that soon), I am that much closer to getting out.
8) Our New Archbishop. Not to be rude or rag on Cardinal Mahony but the L.A. Archdiocese desperately needed someone like Abp. Gomez to come in. I'm excited to see what the future will bring.
9) For music. Music's always been a big part of my life but this year it's been one of the things that's helped me get through some of the more stressful moments of my life.
10) To be living in the country I'm in. Yes, I have some issues with a few things here and I often say I want to move to Canada or Ireland but, let's be honest, we are better off than those living in countries such as Africa where there is a lot of starvation and other war-torn countries.
11) This kind of goes back to family but, the sacrifice my parents have made for me. My mom is my rock and she gave up a lot of luxuries so that I could grow up as well as I have. Dad also sacrificed a lot for me when he was alive.
12) This one also goes back to friends but my girl friends who keep me strong. Some of my best friends (Angelica, Delaney, and Danica are amongst them) recently helped me get through something difficult in which I needed a lot of support from friends and I am so incredibly grateful that they were there for me.
13) The Wonderful #CathSorority gals that I've come to know in the last couple of months. Coming from a place in which faithful Catholic women are almost nonexistent or too far to see on a regular basis, it's nice that we have this support system online.
14) Twitter and Facebook Friends. Yes, I really did go there. When any of us need prayers, these are the people who (whether we know each other in person or not) will always have your back with prayers. When my father passed away two years ago, I had so many strangers tweeting me with condolences and prayers. It was an amazing feeling.
15) People like Patrick Madrid and another (currently unable to talk about) person/publication who've given this girl a chance to write and get published. Sometimes you need a person to believe in your dream (mine is to be a writer) to give you the confidence to go ahead and pursue it.
16) Patron Saints. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati keeps popping up every where I go. St. Therese of Lisieux kept me focused this Lent. St. Jude's coming through for many friends. Hooray for patron saints who don't let you down!
17) Catholic New Media. Hello Thesis paper topic that has been approved but yet not entirely approved. In all seriousness, if it wasn't for it, I would've felt alone during my reversion to the Faith five years ago. I wouldn't have met the people I have nor would I have learned as much as I have.
18) Friends at CINO college. We are the minority but there are two or three fellow classmates/friends who are in the same "Get me out of this CINO college!" boat. It's nice to have that kind of support in that kind of environment.
19) Lent and Advent. Okay, I'm running out of things (that are said in all seriousness) so this is kind of cheating but these are some of my favorite times of year. I am forced to look at myself and make some necessary changes. Both have helped me get more serious about my Faith.
20) Spiritual Advisers. I spent 2 years without one because my last one, Fr. Leo, passed away two years ago this month but I have a new one and he is seriously the best. I've gotten back on track thanks to him.
21) The Rosary and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. It reminds me of a shirt I once said that I had a picture of a Rosary and said "Have you called your Mother lately?" I can't think of two better devotions to help you remember what really matters in life when things are so crazy you feel overwhelmed.
22) My New Parish. Mom and I found a new place to attend Mass which is more to our liking. I'm sorry if this sounds snobby but I don't like the clapping and the dancing during Mass. It's simply not my cup of tea. Our new parish has an organist, women wear mantillas, and we have altar boys (well, young men). I'm not a "trad" but I do like the Latin Mass and this is the closest thing we get every Sunday.
23) Having a paycheck coming into the house. Although my mom is currently the only one working since I haven't gotten any job I've applied for (and thus we've had to cut a lot of things out we'd become accustomed to), I am grateful that there is at least some income coming in. Yes, our belts are tight, I can no longer travel as often as I wish, and we are living paycheck to paycheck but it could be worse. I know God will always provide for us.
24) Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati's Financial Intercession. When I first started at the CINO college, I asked Bl. Pier Giorgio for his intercession since tuition is over $31K a year and I didn't want to go into debt with student loans. I'm going to graduate with only $2K in loans thanks to my generous Cal Grant (which I had to fight for earlier this year) and a massive grant given to me by the CINO college.
25) Vegan foods. Go ahead and laugh but with my dairy and egg allergies, I was losing a lot of important nutrients. With my discover of more ingredients I can use to substitute dairy and eggs and still get the calcium and protein I need, I've been able to stay healthier longer.
26) Basically, everything... good and bad. I wouldn't have grown or come to appreciate all of these things if I hadn't gone through the good AND the bad. It makes my life experience that much richer.

Okay, that took longer than I anticipated but I don't often publicly express what I'm thankful for so it's okay. And now I've realized that I'm running late to pick up my mom from work so I gotta run.

I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving Day. Remember that it's more about what the day symbolizes than how many amazing savings you can get.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!