I am thankful for my parents.

I could start with a snarky something about how I wouldn’t exist without them but we already know that. What’s important is that not only did they make me, they made me well. Any compliments regarding my thoughtfulness, my respectfulness, and in general the way I handle people is really better directed to them than me.

Sometimes I don’t really express, or remember to express, or comprehend how to express, how important my parents are to my life. I am going to college without accumulating debt because they decided to pick somewhere close enough to my university of choice to move to, so that I could stay there. (And they continue to put up with my presence.) I’m allowed to frequently borrow a car for escapades to Seattle or beyond for any of a number of reasons. They’re welcome to host Shelby up here, and more than that, they are welcome to spend a great load of money on taking her to Hawaii. (I just can’t get over that last one!)

As a person, I owe much of what I like about myself to them. But also in my living situation - I owe pretty much all of my comforts and reliefs to them, as well. They are at the top because I cannot thank them enough.

I am thankful for Shelby.

Okay. You  might think you know what I’m thinking. And yes, Shelby is wonderful because she’s adorable, smart, nice, thoughtful, and patient, and those are all definitely things I am thankful for. But that isn’t the point.

Shelby suffered through an education at UW, and the entire time, made sure to keep me well up-to-date on her suffering (I call it that, she might not). The amount of effort she put in to it, the seriousness she regarded the whole affair with - all foreign and alarming and confusing to me. I couldn’t comprehend how she could just be so stressed about it, about things that seemed beyond her control even. But secretly, I observed and took note. Her urgency and concern have rubbed off on me.

Shelby knows how to keep herself in shape. She doesn’t always worry about it, but she knows how to do it - and she is very willing and excited tot each me, as well. I wouldn’t know really anything about it aside from what she’s taught me to do. You can say “Exercise and eat less!” but there’s so much more involved - one has to fit it into their routine, into the rest of their life. And Shelby is the first one to point out to me that trying to just cram it in will always fail.  You have to ease it in, she said.

I can tell Shelby what I’m thinking because I know she won’t judge me, but she will offer honest criticism. I can ask her strange questions and try strange things because she is willing to sit through my attempts to understand social interaction and circumstance. And all through it she maintains an incredible patience. Sometimes, she even seems to enjoy it.

Shelby has taught me so much about not just the kind of person I want (and need) to be with as a partner, but also about what I want to be, and what I need to do to get there. For that, I will always be grateful.

I am thankful for Julie Marx, the advisor at WWU Computer Science. That probably sounds weird but I really am thankful for her. She’s forward, to the point, and earnestly wants to help - and while she won’t break anyone’s rules, of course, she will definitely ‘play’ them to get the information you need. She’s just wonderful. I love visiting her.

I am thankful for the Internet, and especially Google, moreso every day. Got a question? “How do I draw Torchic?” “What is chauvinism?” “When was Avatar released?” Seeing a photograph that you swear you’ve seen before but don’t know where? Missing a word in your brain but you know what you want to say? Curious what a foreign-language webpage says? Need to send documents to someone halfway across the world? This thing that we’ve invented is beyond incredible - and somehow it just works. Constantly, and without fail. We use it without a care in the world, and indeed we get pretty angry when it disappears!

I am thankful for Ryan. Man, this Ryan kid just gets cooler every time I see him.

I… I think that’s all for the moment actually, that seems to pretty much cover it.

That is, if I assume that you all know that I am grateful for the life that I have and the people I live it with. I kind of think that goes without saying.

…Wait! I am thankful for everyone who actually listens to my songs! <_<