Two of my core fears are being inauthentic and being unoriginal. So, you can imagine my reaction to the annual question: “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?” It feels untruthful to answer it if I am not feeling gracious at that moment. It’s also unoriginal because everyone I know lists the same three things: Family, Friends, and Florida State being 11-0 in Football. If it’s asked on Thanksgiving day, I am probably answering stuffing (Which should be socially acceptable year round!). I mean, what else is there…

Despite the utter perilousness of answering this simple question, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is something about Gratitude that seems essential for human flourishing. 

This time of year brings out many articles extolling gratitude’s benefits on mental health, physical health, and virtually everything else. Gratitude is nearly universally recognized in different religious and cultural traditions. If it is so great, why do we often get stuck in resentment and complaining?

For one, Human beings are primarily good at identifying and solving problems. Spending time being self-satisfied is not useful. The hustle never stops. But secondly, gratitude is not meant to be verbalized. There is nothing cathartic about making a list of positive things. You could just as easily list negative things in life and turn it into pros vs cons. Scary to dwell on if your cons list is longer than your pros.

Ultimately, gratitude is an experience. That’s why it’s best expressed as a holiday and a communal meal. We can all come together and be present with the people we are most connected to.

Doing this blog and journey has been a vulnerable experience, as I really do hate drawing attention to myself. This can be attested by my 0 social media posts in the preceding ten years. But, it has come with the great reward of connecting with lots new people and has deepened many of my existing relationships.

Life Update:

 I have returned to Orlando for Thanksgiving and am planning on staying through the Holidays. I am deciding whether to go to Austin or Dallas next starting in January. I am also debating putting it up as a poll and letting the readers decide for me. For now, I am leaning towards Austin.

I really liked Raleigh. Experiencing fall as a Floridian is always a treat. It changes the way you experience time passing in a way that Florida just doesn’t have. 

I met many cool people and there were many more girls there that were closer to what I am looking for. 

I went to the Florida State Wake Forest game with a friend who came up from Florida.

My Volleyball team “Spikea” is full of awesome people and we were really good until we got to the playoffs both seasons.

These are some pictures of the beautiful Duke Chapel. I got to so to some football games there, but couldn’t get a ticket for basketball.