52 Things I'm Grateful For

Happy Thanksgiving! Whatever today looks like for you (and I'm sure it looks different for everyone), there is a reason to celebrate, no matter how small.

Expressing gratitude is practice that we should implement everyday, not just over the holiday season. Everyone from mental health professionals and productivity experts expound on the benefits of an attitude of gratitude. (Not convinced? Check out this study from Berkley or this one from Harvard.)

The Bible, of course, also speaks on this subject a lot. The Psalms are filled with songs of thanksgiving. I truly believe that gratitude should be a hallmark of the Christian lifestyle, as stated in I Thess. 5:16-18 (NKJV): "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Gratitude should be entwined in our daily lives just as much as prayer is.

Unfortunately, expressing gratitude doesn't come naturally. Our brains have a negativity bias, which means we have a tendency to give the bad things more weight and attention than the good. Maintaining an attitude of gratitude will take some brain training.

One simple way to cultivate gratitude is to keep a gratitude log.

I keep a monthly gratitude log in my bullet journal. While I'm not perfect at filling it out everyday, taking a minute or two to write down something that I'm grateful each night helps me shift my own negativity bias.

Gratitude logs also serve as great reminders of the good we may have forgotten. A few months ago I had pulled out my old bullet journals and reread my gratitude logs. I don't think I was in a particularly bad mood or even a good mood that day, but it was still an instant mood-booster.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and sharing gratitude with others, here's a list of 52 things that I've been grateful for this year:

1. my car Ventress

2. my church small group

3. movie nights

4. my family's health

5. having a warm comfy bed

6. The Mandalorian

7. each piece of clothing I own

8. FaceTime (and all the other video-chatting options)

9. my dog Domino

10. reading

11. the beauty of other languages

12. my job

13. podcasts

14. peak fall season

15. family dinners

16. creativity

17. God's protection

18. bonfires with friends

19. discovering new German music

20. participating in NaNoWriMo

21. Bible studies

22. Agents of SHIELD's final season (the show in general)

23. Daiya's vegan mac and cheese

24. having an opportunity to speak German

25. the smell of rain

26. do nothing days

27. working out

28. having a college graduation ceremony

29. Jesus' grace

30. So Delicious' non-dairy salted caramel cashew ice cream

31. Crash Landing on You and its soundtrack

32. my Hyphen group

33. pancakes

34. funny TikToks

35. Sunday School

36. having a roof over my head

37. all of my travel experiences

38. Ben Solo's sweater

39. buying a new desk and chair

40. the Pomodoro technique

41. being editor-in-chief of The SWORD

42. car ride worship sessions

43. Star Wars' Rebels

44. a room to clean

45. hot chocolate

46. the fact that cats exist

47. my professors

48. finally buying Doc Martens after wanting them for years

49. running water

50. bullet journaling

51. 2am heart-to-hearts in the car

52. pretty stationery

What are some things you're grateful for this year?

NaNoWriMo 2020

November is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. This annual creative writing event challenges participants to write a 50,000-word manuscript in one month. To achieve 50k in 30 days, one must write 1,667 words a day (equivalent to about 6.5 pages double-spaced). I've known about NaNo for many years, and it's always been a bucket list item. However, I knew it would be nearly impossible during school. It's an intense challenge!

Well, now that I no longer have essays and research papers to write, I thought I'd write a book. I'm so pumped to finally join NaNo, and I thought I'd share about the story I'll be writing as well as my progress throughout the month. (Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for more frequent updates!)

My story is a duel point-of-view Cinderella retelling set against the backdrop of the first German unification. Elise Kraemer is the daughter of a wealthy merchant whose hypocritical aunt seems bent on removing Elise from her own family. When her father's routine business trip takes longer than expected, Elise worries that something may have gone wrong. Friedrich Joseph August von Schwarzschild IV is heir to the throne of a small kingdom, amidst talk of unifying the German states and an impending war with France. August wants to do what's right, but August, his father, and his father's council cannot agree on what is right. An incidental meeting in a bookstore change the course of both their lives and their kingdom's future.

The basic premise for this story has been rolling around in my head for a few years now. I'm ready to flesh it out into a full story!

I've spent the last few weeks of October prepping, using the tools NaNoWriMo supplies. I've created character profiles, done very, very minimal research on the historical period, and plotted a bare-bones outline. I'm a planster, which in-between hardcore planning and hardcore winging it. In other words, I like to have a basic outline but also like to let the story find itself.

This is my approach to my first NaNo: if I succeed in writing 50k words, I'll be thrilled; if I write 25k, 10k, or only 5k, I'll still be thrilled. I have not focused on my creative writing as much as I would like in a long time, and I'm so ready to get back into it.

Since this post is a day late, I've already have 1,696 words done! Only 48, 304 to go.

#NaNoWriMo #AmWriting #WritersLife