Reading this post from 2018 Thanksgiving, with the lens of a 27 year old rather than a freshly 20 year old, I can’t help but feel so full with grattitude this Thanksgiving.

This 27th trip around the sun has brought me so much joy, love, and the challenges that I’ve chosen and loved. In that of itself, how lucky am I to choose my challenges?

I am thankful for all the things, most people list, a body that (mostly) functions without pain and allows me to move freely, a group of close friends who I know love me so deeply, and who I share that love for, for a deep love that has endured almost a decade and still feels like home, and for the unconditional love and support of my family – even when my decisions don’t make sense to to them.

I know that the twenty year old writing that post in 2018 would be so happy for me and for the life I’m living – it’s exactly what she would’ve wanted. I live next door to my best friend from 2016, and down the street from two of my closest friends from undergrad. I work in a job I genuinely enjoy. I am active nearly every day, and fill my body with (mostly) nutritious food.

It honestly just feels like, it’s too good, it really is.

Here’s hoping next year, as I write this, setting up my new life in London, that I feel the same – and if I don’t, I’ll feel grateful that I chose that challenge.