Two weeks ago, I interviewed staff members at BUHS about the things that they were feeling thankful for with Thanksgiving right around the corner. It is a few days later, past the food comas and family ‘clapbacks’, past the 50% off sales and internet shopping sprees I wouldn’t otherwise do, and it’s now my time to reflect. Over the past year, I’ve had a thousand things to be thankful for. I am exceptionally thankful for my mother, and every adventure she led me on throughout 2016. I’m thankful for the friends I had along the way, either friends I know face-to-face, or the friends in person after being connected through computer screens for years. I give thanks for the family that guide me through life and give me advice, even through all the drama. I’m thankful for my furry friend, for giving me a reason to smile at the end of the day and for keeping me warm on the coldest nights.

Thankful For: My Mother

View from The Prudential Tower in Boston.

My mom has been my rock for the past 15 years of my life. She was the one who brought us out from our dark patches, and she worked hard to see me succeed. If there is anyone who I would turn to with all my problems and all my faults, it would be her. In 2016, we went on adventures that could not have been accomplished without her hard work. She let me follow my dreams and took me to a reality TV show audition in Los Angeles in March, took me to a concert for my favorite artist in April. Later that same month, she took us all the way across the country to the city of Boston, Massachusetts to attend a convention, explore the city, and meet an internet friend I had then known for nearly three years. In July, after a hectic travel though traffic, she took me to meet another long-time internet friend from Oregon in Ontario, California. In August, we set off even further and traveled to Mexico, a country we had both been to but never together. And again, in September, we attended another concert for the same artist from back in April. Without my mom, I would have never have the opportunity to do any of these amazing things, and much less all of them. She has been the foundation for my happiness for as long as I can remember, and I can only wish there was some way to thank her for all that she’s done for me. Thank you, mom, for putting up with all my crazy antics this year and for all my life.

Thankful For: My Friends

above: Josh Santana, Taryn Benson, Grace Griego. Below: internet friends Michael and Kevin.

2016 was a wild, bumpy ride for everyone. That’s what you expect when you’re a teenager powering through high school, through all the homework and social drama. That’s when your friends come in – those you can turn to when you dozed off in Math or English and need someone to tell you what the homework was, if any. The friends you go out to lunch with if you have anything on your mind, from juicy gossip to the latest stressful event in your life. Those are the friends who you see daily and rely on for a smile. Although not all my friends are pictured above, I have tons of people I look to for a laugh here at school. And sometimes, you meet people you click with immediately on the least likely of places – on the vast corners of the internet on Facebook and Twitter. I have friends from across the country, then into Canada, Mexico, the UK, and even New Zealand. Those are the friends who you send memes to at the darkest hour, or for them, when the sun shines high. When I need a laugh, or advice from someone that I’m not quite getting from anyone else, I turn to my internet friends. Some I’ve known for as little as half a year, others for more than three years. Regardless of the length of any friendship, however, if they’re a person that is capable of keeping a smile on my face, I am thankful for them.
Thankful For: My Family

Sometimes, you’re in a place in your life where you may have no one to turn to, and everything just seems too difficult to handle. That’s when family comes in, giving you a helping hand or even just a plate of enchiladas to brighten your day. Whatever the case, my family has always stuck together through thick and thin. There have been moments, like every family, where we find it hard to keep up with each other, but we stay together and love each other regardless. After years of Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas gift exchanges, and New Years celebrations until the crack of dawn, I’ve learned to appreciate my family, not only because they’re my blood, but because they’ve loved me with all the faults I have. We all have flaws, and once in a while you feel like you just can’t handle them anyone, but family is the part of you that keeps you stable and accepts you. That’s what family is supposed to do, love, and that is why I am so thankful for them.

Thankful For: My Cat

I’ve dealt with him through frustrated scratches and angry growls, I’ve stopped him from eating a piece of chocolate to dozens of coins. My Maggie has been a crucial part of my life for as long as I’ve had him, little over two years. Every night when I fall asleep, I feel his warm, fluffy body curl up next to my feet. If it’s too cold, like it has lately been in Bishop, he sleeps on my chest and makes it warm for the both of us. When I get home from school, he meows until I feed him his favorite food, then follows me up to my room to “help” me do homework. Regardless of what he does, from sit in a laundry basket or torture innocent ants, he puts a smile on my face and manages to make me laugh. He loves when I pet him, and even gives me small “baths” in return. That’s a cat’s way of saying “I love you”, right? I am thankful for Maggie because he is who I come home to every day to smile.

There are a multitude of things to be thankful for this holiday season and all year long, and I could only wish it could all be piled up into a single article. These are the ones that touch me the most, if not, the ones that most affect me. I took the time today to reflect on what I am thankful for so maybe I can look back and remember it in the future. Being grateful is a vital thing to reflect on, so, who are you thankful for?