For the Love of It All

Andrea Thompson

There’s so much more than I know to be thankful for. The most commonplace answer is always friends, family, and good health. But I think it’s the reasons that these things matter that I’m thankful for. I’m thankful that my father was a photographer and a writer, and instilled me with the talents that I have. I’m thankful for my father’s love of Led Zeppelin and the Doors, which opened a musical Pandora’s Box that would inevitably change the course of my whole path. If it hadn’t been for these things, I would not be able to appreciate all the new and wonderful music that’s happened since. I’m thankful for chocolate, and the wonderful way that sugar feels on my tongue. I’m thankful for rainy Mondays spent listening to Sting. I’m thankful for Zoe and Ari, two of the coolest dogs in the world, and the fact that they’re there every morning when I wake up to make me smile. I’m thankful for the education that I have, and thankful that I had a chance to get one at all. I’m thankful for my best friend Andrew’s love, which gives me the strength to keep putting up with the madness which I create. I’m thankful for first kisses, and the way the butterflies dance in my stomach with anticipation. I’m thankful that I’m not completely insane, and that with all the damage I’ve done to myself that it usually isn’t and wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened or the end of the world. I’m thankful for all I’ve learned, and all the help I’ve had along the way, and most of all, I’m thankful that to be alive and breathing to experience any of it. ◼