So I don’t really like to be too sentimental, but I figure this past year has been significant enough that I ought to say something. These past 12 months, 365 days, 365x24 hours have been unbelievably and indescribably monumental in my life. College, new friends, being away from my parents, India, Canada, life - it’s insane how much has happened, and it’s insane how many people have influenced my life for the better in such a short period of time. 

That said, I s’pose the first thing I should be thankful for is life itself. Every moment of every day, I’m so thankful to just be alive. To be able to breathe, to live, to take that first sip of Coke on any given day, to soak myself in a hot bath after a long day, to sit in my pajamas and watch football on a lazy Sunday afternoon - there’s nothing like it, and I am so happy I’ve gotten to experience it.

Lately, there’s been all this talk about depression and recent suicides and all o’ that. I’ve been watching those “It Gets Better” YouTube videos nonstop, and it just doesn’t make sense to me. To feel so overwhelmed, to feel so unable to overcome - I simply don’t get it. I can’t imagine wanting to take away something like life itself, but I guess that’s just my naivete coming out. As such, I’m thankful for people wanting and trying to make a difference. I’ve always joked that I’m too superficial to care, but when I see people who actually genuinely believe they can, and that they are, making a difference, it’s something else entirely. I’m thankful for people trying to make the world a better place, because that whole “apathy” thing gets real old real fast.

I’m thankful for all the people I’ve met this past year, and along with that, I’m so thankful for the College of William and Mary. I can’t even begin to tell how amazing my college experience has been, and that has more to do with the people I’ve met on campus than anything else. Seniors who have graduated, friends I’ve just met this year - it’s all, quite literally, out o’ this world.

In that same astronomical vein, I’m thankful for my Astro TA for making what could be a horrible, horrible Thursday night lab into something I almost look forward to, despite how much I complain about it.

I’m thankful for poke wars on Facebook for making me feel like I’m keeping in touch with people. I’m thankful for friends that actually make the effort to keep in touch, even if they’re half the world away. I’m thankful for people that bring me down and set me straight, and I’m thankful for gchat, for without it, I’d lose some of my closest friends.

I’m thankful for my India trip for opening my eyes to my culture and my traditions, so many things I shunned for so long. I still say I don’t like Indian people, but it’s such bullshit. I criticize the backwards culture and the idiotic traditions, but I still love it.

I’m thankful for the IRC, for giving me a home and a solid group of great people I can always look to, despite how much I bitch about it. I’m thankful for my experience on Board, as much as I want to get away from it. I’m thankful for the ability to meet so many new people, and I’m most thankful for the freshmen in IRC, for allowing me to believe that not everyone is sucked into the shitty politics and gossip that so defines the IRC. I’m thankful for the new friends I’ve made because of the IRC, and I’m thankful for the friends I’ve grown closer to. I’m thankful for the most kickass dais at WMHSMUN ever, and I’m thankful for my MUNtor, for literally helping me make me the person I am today. I’ve changed so much this past year, and the guidance, the advice, it’s absolutely absurd how different my life would be if I hadn’t shown up to IM Softball on that fateful day.

On that note, I am thankful for IM Sports. As angry and obnoxious as they make me, they are my one true outlet at College. I am thankful for my teammates who care as much as I do, and I am thankful for those t-shirts, for providing me inspiration like very little else in my life.

I am thankful for the Phonathon for giving me my first legitimate job, with hours, timesheets, and consequences. I hate having to leave it, so so so much, but I s’pose it’s on to greater things.

With that, I am thankful for my Richmond Road Residence Life staff, for being some of the most accepting, caring, and wonderful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. So devoted, so dedicated, if I could be half the RA most of y’all are, I would consider myself exceeding expectations.

I am thankful for my fellow AMP Interns for showing me that not everyone in college is completely obsessed with the drinking culture and for their willingness to give up a weekend or two or even some of Blowout to make campus life better.

I am thankful for my Expressions dancers, for providing such a great experience and coming up with suck a kickin’ product. I am thankful for my new “little” as much as I hate the term, ‘cuz, well, he’s pretty frikkin’ awesome.

I am thankful for that week after Expressions for being able to see one of my best friends before she moved on the the Big Apple. We hung out on so many occasions that week, and it was absolutely fantastic. On to bigger and better things fo’ sho, but she will be missed.

I am thankful for my friends, new and old, for always sticking by me, despite whatever crazy ramblings I might be going on that day. I am thankful for being able to share everything I feel without the fear of judgment, and I am thankful for their willingness and ability to listen. I can’t name them all, but you have made my life absolutely incredible, and I can totally imagine living in New York City four or five years in the future, chillin’ over some coffee, discussing life, love, and everything in between.

I am thankful for my TV shows. No, seriously. After a day of annoying people, the ability to just sit down, watch some classy (and classic) TV, it’s underrated. The West Wing, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and oh so many more - you are my drug, and for that, I thank you.

I am thankful for sports teams that don’t suck. The Lakers and Packers are so integral to the way I feel any given week, and the fact that they have been nothing but spectacular this year is partially why this year has been so fantastic. I don’t think it’s weird for me to be so obsessed with my teams, for in times when change is the only constant, it’s comforting to know that no matter what happens, the Packers and Lakers will always be there for me. I’m thankful for the championships, the history, the stories, the players. I am thankful for the fans, the coaches, the sweat, the tears, the wins.

And finally, I am thankful for my family. My family, who I complain about and yell at, my family who I rarely ever call, my family whose birthdays I forget, and my family who I get annoyed with for no reason at all. I am thankful for a family that cares so much, cares so much to the point of frustration. I am thankful for a family that’s always got my back, and I am thankful for a family that never lets me down. I am thankful for a family that is willing to adapt just a little to allow me to feel more at home, and I am thankful for a family that loves me more than life itself.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays - I mean, what’s better than family, food, and football? But I’ve never felt this way before on this holiday, so thankful for everything in my life. Figured I should document it.

Livin’ and lovin’ life, every single unpredictable moment of it. 2010, what a life.

True life: everyone uses Facebook. Truer life: everyone stalks Facebook.

I think one of the most underrated things about peoples’ Facebooks are their “About Me” sections. Lots of times, they get overlooked. Probably because lots of times, they’re super lame or cliched or idiotic. But all-minus-lots of times, they’re really cool, and they tell a lot about a person.

I’m currently in the process of updating mine, but I don’t really know what to say. I mean, I can’t sound lame, or else the 800 people I’m certain that stalk me will think I’m lame. But not sounding lame is a surprisingly difficult task. Anyway, this is what I gots so far, figured I’d share:

I’m that kid that would wish for more wishes when asked what he would do if given three wishes. I just don’t understand why someone would limit themselves in a hypothetical situation.

If you like Taco Bell, we will be the best of friends. I think the coolest way to propose to someone would be with a sauce packet.

The Green Bay Packers have the ability to make me the happiest person and the angriest person in the world within a span of three downs.

Nothin’ spectacular. Kinda says stuff about me, maybe a tiny bit amusing. A-moose-ing. New favorite pun, by the way. Moose is like the coolest thing ever.

That wasn’t really relevant.