My Envision presentation is ALMOST done, I still have errands to run, laundry to do, a session to shoot tonight, and oh yeah…I’m running a half marathon in a little less than 48 hours. Life is crazy right now for me! But amid all of the crazy, I’ve started journaling (imagine that…I hate journals!) in my iphone every night with at least one thing I’m thankful for. (Has a more privileged statement ever been written than “I started journaling in my IPHONE about gratitude???) I’ve made it about a week so far without stopping, and I plan to continue through the next year! I’ve found myself getting way too wrapped up in the hectic nature of life and not spending enough time focusing on the good, simple things in life. I thought it would be fun to share my first week of being thankful with all of you guys since this is the season of THANKS (NOT the Christmas season like retailers and Starbucks want me to believe). I hope to share “excerpts” from my phone journal from time to time throughout the year! Hey, maybe I’ll even branch out and get a real PAPER journal!

1. Being able to find my best friend so early in life. I think some people think it’s a bad thing to find your spouse at such a young age (I was 19 when we met, 20 when we started living together, and 23 when we got married!) because you’re still pretty immature in your early 20’s and still finding your way/growing/etc. But I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, especially if two people are able to grow together and not apart. No, it hasn’t always been easy, and we definitely don’t have the perfect relationship (despite what we lead people to believe on Instagram), but it’s worth it. I’m glad I didn’t have to spend my life waiting and wondering when that person was going to come into my life.

(Photo by Katelyn James)

2. A CAREER! Some people grew up knowing what they wanted to be…whether that was a teacher, or a doctor, or a journalist, or even a photographer, they just knew. I always envied that! I wasn’t really sure what I was good at, or what I thought would be a career I would wake up every morning excited to do, but finding photography and starting my business was one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I’m so thankful for that!

3. For time off. I had so much fun picking apples the other day, laughing non stop with our friends, and hanging out. Taking time out to just do nothing but enjoy others company is rejuvenating!

4. I’m so thankful I never have to worry about going hungry. I realized the other day as I was looking through our freezer and throwing out a ton of gross looking freezer burned stuff, that we are so privileged. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it…we don’t ball super hard. We put off trips (even our honeymoon), homeownership, and cut back on our lifestyle a lot to invest in my business. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like we are ever going to be where we want to be financially, but really, is anyone ever really totally happy with that? We all want to make more! Looking at the stuff I threw out that day, I realized that we are more privileged than a vast majority of the world who doesn’t have the luxury of throwing food away because we think it will probably taste bad. I am ashamed to admit this is something I do fairly regularly…if something is even slightly stale, I chuck it. Or if an apple is mealy, I’m probably not going to eat it.

5. I’m thankful to live in a country where we have the right to vote for our leaders. Yes, most of them are probably crooks, but still, we do have the right to vote for them…or to not vote for them. I have always felt a sort of civic duty (I also reaaaallly liked social studies as a kid…is that weird?) and not only LOVE voting, but I definitely want to do Jury Duty one day. (said no one else, ever).

6. I’m thankful for good friendships with positive people. I used to have a ton of toxic friendships with people who were terrible friends, but as I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve tried to surround myself with people who I feel are genuine and positive people. I am really grateful to have a few really good friendships with people who I know have my back no matter what. I see my good friends as an extension of my family…an extension I got to choose! And you know what? It’s true, a few quality friendships kick quanity’s ass.

(My friendship with Jen is high on the list of the ones I’m thankful for! Photo by Love by Serena…another girl I’m thankful for!)

7. I’m thankful that my sister lives nearby and that we have maintained a friendship as adults. When she joined the Army a couple years ago I was so sad and worried because I thought she would end up moving so far away that it would be difficult for us to spend much time together. I know my thoughts were selfish…after all, she was doing something AMAZING by deciding to serve the country we both love so much. But she’s always going to be my little sister, and I’m always going to want to be there to protect her. I missed her so much when she went to basic training. I wrote her a letter every day because it made me so sad to think the mail would come and she wouldn’t have anything. I tried to prepare myself for more of that…more letters and not being able to communicate, or see each other, or give her hugs…but when the word came through that she was moving to Maryland, where my husband’s family lives and where I work ALLLL the time, I cried so hard, tears of joy! I am SO grateful she has been so close to us over the past couple of years. I’m thankful she has yet to miss a Christmas, or not be able to come home because it’s too expensive to fly back.

I kind of can’t believe I’m sharing all of these things with you guys, but the truth is, the gratitude journal has helped me gain a lot of perspective, even in the first week. I can’t wait to see what the next 52 weeks reveal! I definitely encourage all of you to do the same and at the very least take just a minute a day to be mindful and actively grateful for some of the things we take for granted:) Feel free to share a few of yours in the comments!