Meriam Raouf STAFF WRITER

The first thing I’m thankful for are the people around me, who chuckle when I suggest we go around the table and say what we’re thankful for. I’m thankful that I have friends and family who tolerate my third grader spirit when that very suggestion occurs in May. Mostly they sigh, and think “wow she’s strange,”, but ultimately, they entertain my round-robin.

I’m equally thankful for all the huge-little things that together compose the montage of my life (Dawson’s creek theme song in the background) as am I grateful for things that seem to happen just as I need them to, in the same way that three day weekends leave a person wondering what they would have done had they had to deal with the nine to fiver for a full week. I’m grateful for every person who doesn’t have a facebook, and at the same time grateful for every “product of society” that has said “facebook is my life,” and for the amusement those people have caused. To those people I say this: life is my facebook—not the other way around.

I’m thankful for every commercial I missed and every lost button that I found. I’m thankful for telemarketers that never give up even though they have one of the hardest jobs out there. I’m thankful for the intonation of voice that little kids use when they utter the words “Hi. What’s your name?” I’m grateful for every ounce of luck, and for open minds. I’m thankful for innocent until proven guilty, and I’m thankful for Veggie Heaven. I’m thankful for vegans, days when cheerios were finger food, and for anyone without teeth (I can’t wait to gum the Jell-o when I’m old). I’m thankful for robust old people, the kinds that take early morning brisk walks and are enjoying life. I’m thankful for anyone who embraced their wrinkles, pimples, and blemishes as a part of them and for anyone who thought of themselves outside of superficiality. I’m thankful for rebels, hippies, anarchists, as they are the exclamation points in my egg salad. I’m thankful for analogies that don’t make sense and for every weird look I’ve ever gotten. I’m thankful for my belief that hyphens and quotation marks give me the license to make up words.

I’m thankful that I decided to write this article in paragraphs instead of a list, because even though it’s harder to get through, it’s together. I’m thankful for having a family that loves my faults and for a cousin that still looks me in the eye even though I peed on her lap during that car ride (I was really young), and for her patience when my parents did almost nothing about it. I’m thankful for the days when my hair isn’t frizzy and the uni-dimple I have when I smile (I was ripped off by God). I’m thankful for every person who isn’t afraid to say “God.” Whether you believe in that kind of thing or not—he’s not Voldemort.

I’m thankful for freedom of the press and anyone who’s ever challenged the norm. I’m thankful for how much I’m loved and for all the passion in my life. I’m thankful for every person who said I looked good both with curly and straight hair and for anyone who’s ever talked about my writing or artwork (positive or negative—I love it). I’m thankful for every complement I’ve ever received. I’m thankful for every person who looked me in the eye and for the people that couldn’t. I’m thankful for awkward silences and for weird sounding laughter that makes everyone in the room uncomfortable (yeah you Fran Drescher!).

I’m thankful for the way old men yell as well as for any Rico Suave types who can make winking look sexy and not creepy (for the those of you who watch One Tree Hill, Brooke Davis has that down to a science). I’m thankful for bad teen dramas that come with the latent “Mom you really watched that?” embarrassing factor on as well as fads and music videos from the 80’s which will have a similar effect. I’m thankful for music and any song that ever really pulled me in. I’m thankful for paintings that make me cry because they’re so beautiful and for indie films that are so good I don’t want to tell anyone about them.

I’m thankful for intellect and for writing that gets to me and for the times when spell-check (ironically, I originally misspelled spell-check) is wrong and my faith in humanity is restored. I’m thankful that my shift still works even though the actual button fell off. I’m thankful for every time I recover from the lost-Super-Bowl-like disappointment that comes with losing a file, and for when Word auto recovers anything. I’m thankful for embarrassing public tpyos.

I’m thankful for pipe cleaners and for my best friend, who wears goggles when she’s on the computer for reasons no one can understand. I’m thankful for anyone willing to make a scene and for the comfortable couch outside Hollister (I make awkward eye contact with the mothers when I’m waiting for whoever dragged me to Hollister). I’m thankful for anyone who counts how many times I wrote the word thankful. I’m thankful for the days when I feel a part of the universe—the days where I find Waldo. I’m thankful I started writing for people to read. I’m thankful for a higher awareness of cultural truth. I’m thankful for Popsense.