twenty-six things I’m grateful for at twenty-six
growing up. the feelings of helplessness and frustration slowly washing away as you gain access to money and information.
strawberry cream cakes, strawberry cheesecakes, strawberry chocolate brownie cakes, strawberries.
a good night’s sleep. sleep that is 7+ hours, sleep that is not disturbed or day time sleep. but sleep at the “normal” night hours, sleep that is deep and restful.
book readers who annotate their books and write the year/place of when they were reading it on the first page because when I come across second-hand books like that my heart.
fleeting intimacies. those brief, beautiful conversations and moments you share with strangers that you will never meet again. at a café, at the airport, at the open mic night. connections that are purely happenstance and a time being in your life. the beginning is the ending. but it doesn’t matter. they add something, if not to your life, but to your energy. even if you can’t trace it.
the concept of crying. the release, the relief. if I didn’t have this, if I didn’t have this way of letting out my disappointment, overwhelmingness, tiredness, frustration, sadness, and pain, what would I do? what would I even do.
dog/cat/pet owners who understand that just because they love their pet not everyone has to and some people are genuinely afraid and not horrible human beings for not going awww but uhhh when they see their pet.
translators, more specifically book translators. thank you so much for all your effort into making sure I can enjoy such beautiful literature from other cultures and languages.
people who realize they were wrong about a certain perspective or life philosophy or stance and then course correct and acknowledge the same.
credit cards and essentially having quick access to credit in times of absolute need (fine line between hating cc and capitalism and using it to your advantage, I know).
people who introduce me to new imagery which sounds so simple but hits my brain like the freshest of oxygen like my father saying my mother’s face began to glow like the moon when she smiled or a tumblr writer saying something makes their heart beam.
earrings. long earrings that dangle against my neck and make me feel grown up, sometimes graceful, sometimes sensual. other types of earrings too. jhumkas. hoops.
sunflowers. filler flowers. flower shops that keep newspaper to wrap flowers in. people who show up to my apartment with flowers.
emails. I like that emails can be that perfect distance in communication but also so very efficient. they don’t demand instant replies like instant messaging. functional and timely. emails at work that exist in place of long meetings and emails from friends and lovers. my inbox feels like a mix of a treasure chest of precious words and an arcade of advertisements.
older women who look at me not as competition but with this sentiment of wanting to protect/guide me, with this feeling of fondness, words of advice that aren’t patronizing but so very well meaning.
good-quality, well-researched, engaging articles/blogs. blogs full of facts and figures that put things into perspective. blogs written in a witty and humorous tone that feel like you’re having a conversation with someone smart and warm.
my family. my friends. for loving me even when I am difficult. even when I am bratty. for understanding the subtext of my words and actions. for accepting me even when I don’t accept myself. for reminding me of who I am when I can no longer understand the concept of self. thank you.
clothing brands that have sizes bigger than large. clothing brands that have beautiful clothes and designs for sizes other than xxxxxxs.
people who know how to make important days about you like your birthday and your first day at work and your heartbreak date idk. just people who aren’t so dense and don’t know what their energy/focus needs to be at what time when with others.
glitter. glittery eyeshadow. glittery phone covers. glittery everything. all that glitters may not be gold but it does something to my brain and I love it.
people who can help me let loose. goofy and silly and light doesn’t come naturally to me. my disposition is pensive, internally. even though externally I may seem so exuberant.
context. the context behind a painting at an art gallery. context behind a meme. nothing is anything without context. so people who give you context, content that gives you context.
selfies. give me a sense of control over capturing myself and my moments because with someone else behind the camera I am as awkward as awkward can get.
the moon. stars. the sky. faraway things that are more complicated than just pretty things that make me calm. that make my mind calm. that make my heart feel less lonely.
space. physical space, emotional availability, mental headspace. in me and in others. required but rare.
all my past selves, all my younger selves for being. thank you for your wholesomeness, thank you for your resilience, thank you for your pureness, thank you for your decisions, thank you for your hope, thank you for your hard work, thank you for your crazy, your messy, your real, your beautiful. thank you for it all.
today is my twenty-sixth birthday and I wanted to take a bit to list down everything that makes my life lighter. there’s much more but now it’s time to go eat cake and click blurry, happy selfies.
