Hello everyone!
Today I am turning 19 (wohoo!), which is why I thought it would be a good idea to share 19 things that I love and am grateful for in life.
I thought documenting my thoughts at this age, at this point would be interesting, especially when I look back at this as a new, and hopefully, better person in the future.
Without further ado, let's get started!
Family
I am extremely lucky to have a family who not only cares about me, but also about each other. I am eternally grateful to grow up in a good environment with good people. Everything good in my life, I owe it to you.
Cats
I can't get over how majestically cute they are.
Friends
Almost as cute as cats, if not more. So, so, SO happy to have met all the amazing people and to have kept them. Special shout out to my best of friend:
I am honored to call you my friend. Thank you for being there for me and with me! Thank you for making me happier and a better person! I hope one day we get to be in the same place on my birthday for you to fulfill your lifelong dream of smacking a cake onto my face, just as you like to remind me every time.
Sunrises
Every time I catch you rising from your sleep,
your beauty never fails to mesmerize me.
I hope you forgive me, dear sun,
if for this day only,
I believe that you are shining just for me to see.
Theatres
Ah.
Words cannot express my love, respect and appreciation for all the hard work that goes behind producing a musical, a play, a ballet or any other theatrical work.
I am genuinely grateful, firstly, for having means to go and see those beautiful works of art, and secondly, to every single person who, so very passionately, works and puts together an act, that forever stays with me in my thoughts.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for making me feel so happy.
Artists
Art is great but you know who is greater?
Those who make them.
Thank you for being brave enough to put your work, which we all know is dear to you, out into the world for us to judge, love and hate. You are just as majestic as cats. Maybe a little less, but you are in top three for sure!
Pictures
Don't you find it wonderful how we can capture a moment, a moment so dear to us that we wish to keep it with us for a little longer than our memories would allow us? I find it fascinating.
Especially how a single picture, a picture like this, can make us feel things we didn't know we could feel up until this moment.
Who are those people in there?
Do you think they know each other, or were they just mere strangers who happened to be at the right place at the right time?
Books
It crazy how we can transport ourselves into a completely different word, a world filled with excitement and adventure, lives bathing in sorrow and love. We get to live through the eyes of people we are not and experience this life from a whole new perspective. Books are crazy, man. I am telling you.
Healthy Relationships
Not just romantic, which is just as beautiful, but platonic ones as well. I get so happy for people who seem to be surrounded by those who cherish them, support them and guide them in the right direction.
Now don't get me wrong, by those things I don't mean to imply that one person should be the saviour of another. Quite the contrary actually.
I like it when they see each other as individuals and not only support the other but are comfortable enough to point out their wrongs to them.
I like to see relationships with mutual respect, because no respect is a recipe to a disaster.
I LOVE people who acknowledge their differences and instead of intervening with one's uniqueness, are passionate about understanding them.
I am so happy for those who get excited to see their loved ones because they know that that is where home is.
Rain
I feel protected and at easy when you first appear.
You make even the most stressful days in my life,
feel simply like a dream
That will come and go in no time,
as long as you are here.
Skillful writing
There are days when I feel trapped and alone.
On those days I can feel better
by the words of a stranger,
whom I have never seen or talked to before.
Cultures
I love experiencing different cultures through the people I get to meet, the pictures I get to see and the places I get to visit.
However, more than anything I love seeing people who appreciate and genuinely find interest in learning about someone's roots and traditions. Those who study about a place, about people who they had no prior knowledge about before, without selfish reasons, and without giving up. When a friend shows genuine interest in my history and culture, I just want to squish their face, embrace them and never let go.
Spirited Away
The rich and complex world Hayao Miyazaki has built in this one never fails to make me starstruck.
I remember watching it as a child and thinking that it was the best thing I had ever seen. Honestly, same 9 year old me, same.
How does it make me feel sad but happy, loved but neglected, inspired but scared, all at the same time?
If I ever decide to have a little thing (as in kids), I will make sure to watch this masterpiece with them. Not that I will be able to answer their questions, but I am rather curious to see a chid's take on it.
Tattoos
I know this might as well go with Artists, BUT, there is a slight difference to carrying yourself with artwork on you.
Considering that we as humans are, in our own way, walking artworks, it is amazing to see both combine and produce something beyond what words can express.
Particularly fascinating when you think of how each tattoo someone has on them means something important, individual, something no other person can know unless explained. There is a weird sort of power when one gets to show a glimpse of themselves, without having to share everything. Also, isn't it amazing how some people feel empowered because of tattoos? Isn't it great how this type of art helps people acquire confidence they didn't have before?
Forests and Faires
I love forests and its creatures, even if some only exist in fairytales. I have read a book this summer called, Gossip from the Forest by Sara Maitland, and it made me appreciate this wonder our planet has blessed us with even more. Appreciate it for all the whimsical ideas they give people to write about and for all the feelings they make them feel. Thanks for being there and thanks for being magnificent.
Pride and Prejudice
I loved reading from the perspectives of two extremely proud and stubborn characters. I find those types of narratives very interesting, as we get to see a beautiful transformation of very complex people for very different reasons.
I loved how by the end of the novel, Austen shows us how Darcy wasn't the only character who went through a great transformation, but also Elizabeth, who finally learned to accept her and her family's faults without blindly defending them.
Money
I am grateful for the material privileges in my life as well. I agree that they are not as important as other things, but it would be naive of me to deny the opportunities I had and how it enabled me to do things I couldn't have done without it.
Thanks to that, I get to visit places I have always dreamed of being in, eat food that I enjoy and can't get enough of, watch plays and read books that keep me at the edge of my seat. I get to attend a university and have access to libraries, filled with endless knowledge, all waiting for me to discover them.
I am grateful to my parents who worked so hard for me to have all those things that make me happy.
Mistakes
I am grateful for all the mistakes I have made. You have shaped me up and pushed me to become the person I am today. I am not proud of them, but they were essential part of growing up. Without you, there is no me. Here is to future mistakes and to learning from them.
You.
I am grateful to you for taking a time out of your day to read things that were important to me. I appreciate you and your curiosity and I hope my thoughts kept you entertained! ✨
Cover photo taken from @acame
Two Fairies Embracing in a Landscape with a Swan - Hans Zatzka (1900)
