Things I’m Grateful for in 2023

I thought I’d begin to round up all the things, big and small, that I am so thankful for from this year. (Aside from the first few, the rest are in no particular order.) Happy Thanksgiving!!

two images sourced from pinterest*

1. My salvation in Christ
2. My sister and I becoming members at Grace Presbyterian this Spring
3. True sisters in Christ who have stood with me to bear and share my burdens with
4. My family
5. My brother graduating from high school this year, with all of us there to see such a special moment
6. My brother having the most special senior night in his final year of basketball, and again, all of us being there to bear witness to his spectacular three 3-pointers and impeccable defence
7. My friends, especially the new ones + deepening connections of this year
8. My sweet little baby, Aquiles
9. e.l.f. super grip primer
10. e.l.f. stay all night micro-fine setting mist :’) (these have literally changed my life)
11. The highlights in my hair 🙂 (i love being a woman)
12. Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love
13. Our trip to NYC
14. My Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, one of the best purchases of my LIFE
15. Pinterest (it’s free therapy !!!)
16. Frank Herbert’s mind (My Dune journey has ever grown this year)
17. Seeing Barbie with two sweet, dear friends this year — a culmination of my own personal journey with celebrating girlhood and femininity
18. My Kindle — NO REGRETS BUYING IT WHATSOEVER
19. My $10 sunnies from Target
20. A substantial handful of the now 4th-grade students I worked with a lot last year
21. The Harry Potter books + films, I have grown to truly treasure and savour these stories like never before
22. My curling iron and hair rollers
23. Thrifting (books + clothes!!)
24. The girls trip to the coast, a special start to a special summer
25. All of my PBs at the gym this year, read: all of my discipline and consistency that has paid off in a confidence so deep, it’s been life-altering
26. Realising quite a few of the dreams I had as a little girl this year
27. Rearranging the furniture in my room and it making a very positive impact on my mental state and overall happiness (it’s the little things, fr)
28. The discovery of Mexican/Aztec mochas
29. Any and all of the moments of side-aching, tears-rolling, cannot-breathe laughter
30. The Switchfoot concert
31. Every time I have breathed in the sea air, standing or running or swimming or walking besides my beloved Pacific Ocean
32. Dressing for your colours (literally i look so good all the time now)
33. Giving up caffeine for Lent which has led me to only drink it for two weeks out of my cycle every month, greatly improving my overall health
34. My grandmother’s house being beautifully restored after the horrific flooding, and being there to help move things back in
35. Benefit blushers (Willa + PomPom, my STARS)
36. Getting to see the Celtics live for the very first time in Sac
37. The possibility of life imitating art
38. Diet Coke

There is so much more I am grateful for, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. I am sure, given that there is still over a month of time left in 2023, that I will have more to add when I write the 2023 breviary, Lord willing. For now, these are some of the moments and things, great and otherwise, that have beautified daily life as well as those bigger moments that become sacred memory. Again, a very happy and merry Thanksgiving to you!!