Things I'm thankful for

We may not celebrate it here in the UK, but all this talk about thanksgiving has made me two things. Firstly, it's made me super hungry and super excited for turkey at Christmas. Secondly, it's made me thankful. Thankful that we don't eat some of the bizarre sides that Americans do - sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows on the side of a roast dinner?! But also, thankful for all of this...

1. Still having my grandparents

I see a lot of tweets about how people who still have grandparents alive don't realise how lucky they are and I object to them whole-heartedly. I realise every day how lucky I am to be in my twenties and to still have two of my grandparents with me, one on each side (of the family, not on each side of myself). I lost my other two grandparents fairly close together in 2007 and then in 2008, but since then I've been lucky enough to have my two remaining grandparents there to watch me grow up. The relationships I had with the two I've lost and the two I have are so very different. The relationships I had with my grandparents who died when I was 11 was that of a grandparent and grandchild; they looked after me when I was ill and took me on fun days out while my parents worked and spoilt me rotten at Christmas. But the relationships I have with the grandparents I still have, are that of friends. Me and my grandma go out for drinks and gossip about the world and I try to teach her what social media is (she even half gets it too). Me and my grandad go for tapas together and share our love of travelling and of living in the moment. I'm super thankful I've been given the time for that!

2. Having the opportunity to travel

Speaking of travelling, I'm so grateful that I've already done so much of it by such a young age! Sure, I may not have done the cliché gap yar kind of travelling, but my mum and dad always took us to exciting places when we were younger like Amsterdam, Iceland, Florida and Lapland. So by the time I was a teenager and starting to go on my own, I had already seen so many things that some adults only dream of. And long may it continue! So far next year I'm going to Prague, Iceland (again), Latvia, France, New Orleans and Las Vegas and I'm so thankful that I get to experience and enjoy so much of what the world has to offer. You can bet I'm not planning on slowing down any time soon!

3. Having skin that tans

Of course, like most of my let's-discuss-life-and-the-universe style blog posts, this one was bound to feature some deep and some shallow thoughts. I was actually very lucky to inherit my dad's olive skin because the other alternative was my mum's pale and interesting skin that burns super easily. I think her record for the earliest in the year that she burnt in this country was March. But instead, I'm very thankful that I ended up with dad's complexion and I can happily lay in the sun, covered in oil (and sun tan lotion - gotta be safe) to my heart's content.

4. Being part of such a supportive friendship group

There's a lot of negative stereotypes that come with being part of a girly clique. Bitchiness, secretly all hating each other, being fake or disingenuous. The list goes on. But me and my friends are more of a family than a clique and this year has really highlighted just how much we're all there for each other. With the exception of myself, everyone in the group has had a pretty hard year with loss, unfulfillment at work, bad health (both physical and mental), breakups and a general sense of struggling. But in darkness there is light and it's made me realise what a truly supportive, loving and kind friendship group I'm so lucky to be a part of. We're all there for each other no matter what and are there to offer words of wisdom (even though none of us are that wise) or even to drag each other out for drinks to take everyone's minds off it. Equally though, we're there to support each other in good times and are always happy for one another's successes and triumphs. I am so thankful for my girls and for everything that we've stood by each other through.

5. My ability to talk to strangers

It's not something I really considered until fairly recently but I'm the kind of person who can happily talk to strangers, whatever their age or status. Not in like a creepy, chatting-to-randoms-on-the-bus kind of way (obviously). I mean like in job interviews, with people on the phone, with my parents' friends and colleagues, with people in restaurants, with people in professional situations. It was something my boss used to say in appraisals at my old job; that she was impressed by how easily I would talk to really senior people. And it's something that I either didn't notice or took for granted but I do know that not having a natural air of confidence can hold you back from really shining in situations like job interviews. And although I am a very confident person and naturally an extrovert, I think the ability to talk to strangers comes from my time spent in hospitals. I was 11 years old when I first got ill and having to discuss things and articulate yourself clearly to nurses, doctors and consultants, really leaves no time to be nervous. I think it's worked in the same way that having braces young did; set me straight before I really had time to veer off. Once you hit your teens, you get self conscious and worry about what other people think and are constantly overthinking, and a lot of people carry these traits into adulthood. So I'm thankful that out of all the negative experiences hospital gave me, it gave me some pretty good ones too.

6. A brother I get on with so well

I was never the kind of girl who craved a sister. I was (still am) the princess of our household, got totally spoilt and usually got the final say on anything and everything. And as for my brother Aidan, he has always been the yin to my yang. Placid where I was bolshy, quiet where I was loud, and happy to go with the flow where I was demanding. Yet we've always got on like the best of friends and I was always glad that I had a sibling who was my counterpart not my rival - a sister the same as me would've been my worst nightmare (and my dad's I imagine!). And today, our relationship is still very much the same! I've mellowed and he's found his voice, with both of us coming to meet at more of a middle ground but we still have that same level of balance and understanding. We've never had the same interests, with me into fashion and partying and him into gaming and now rock climbing, but we still have weekly phone calls and listen to each other excitedly chat about what we've been doing (even if we don't fully understand what the other is talking about). Even though he's currently 80 miles away, I am very thankful that I have a brother I get on so well with, in spite of (and because of) our differences.

7. My ability to drink tequila

As you will most definitely have noticed, I love a good night out. And what says a night out better than tequila shots? There's the whole fun of salt-shot-lime and there's even a song to go with it! And yet so many people I go out with are like 'ugh I can't get one, they make me throw up' when I suggest it. I don't know if it's nature, nurture or just a miracle, but I'm so thankful that I'm not one of those people and can happily enjoy tequila on all my very best (and drunkest) nights out. Da da-DA-dada-DA-da-DA...

8. Knowing what I want out of life

Being young is confusing and exciting and downright difficult. There's pressure from all angles and the possibilities about our future are always endlessly stretching before us. Shall we go to Ibiza and work a season, shall we go to university and study maths, shall we go to university and study art, shall we settle down and have kids, shall we get job as a waitress in a cocktail bar? And sometimes there are simply so many options that some people either never end up choosing or never working out which would make them happiest. I'm one of the lucky ones though and rather than always having a dream career in mind, I found it helpful to know what I didn't want rather than what I did. I knew I didn't want to go to university, I knew I didn't want to have kids, I knew I didn't ever want to be bored in a job. So I crossed a few options off the never-ending list that I knew weren't for me and followed the path of fashion instead, in a bid not to be bored. I'm so thankful that I figured out the first step because just look at where it's taken me! And hopefully, the only way is up...

9. Parents who love me unconditionally

Like with the grandparents thing, I read a lot about how people who have parents who are both still here and together don't know how lucky they are. Again, I do know how lucky I am, I realise it all the time. Not just because I have parents who still love each other, but because I have parents who love me the way they do. I've never been guided down a certain career path or steered towards a decision based on their own agenda. They've always encouraged me to make my own choices and respected that I know my own mind. They're always on hand to offer advice and support in challenging times and a whole lot of enthusiasm in good ones. I am so thankful for the way that I've been brought up and for the continuing love and friendship that I share with my parents now that I'm a grown up (or at least, a near-grown up).