Thanksgiving

I believe anyone living in the United States has many things to be thankful for. Ten things I am most thankful for are:



1. Jesus- Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He has saved me from my sins and loves me more than anyone ever could.



2. My family- Without my family I wouldn't be here today. My parents are always there to encourage me in whatever I aim to do. My brother and sister have both set wonderful examples for me to follow, and are always there when i might need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.



3. My friends- It's hard for many people to get up and go to school everyday. If I did not have my friends I might not survive everyday at school. They're always there to cheer me up if I'm feeling down about going to school that day or even if I'm having a bad day.



4. Freedom



5. My education- I am very privileged to have the oppourtunity to go to school everyday and recieve an education that will help me be successful as I grow up.



6. Food- There are many people around the world who do not have more than 1 meal a day. I can be certain to have as much food as I need in one day.



7. Enough money- I never have to worry about my family running out of money or going in debt. I have always had confidence that we will have more than enough money to make it through.



8. My house.



9. My health- I have never had any major health problems or any problems that could cause me to die at a very young age.



10. My cell phone.

"We Are What We Repeatedly Do" -Aristotle

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey helped me realize some of my worst habits and some of my best habits.

My favorite habit was Habit 1: Be proactive. It was a really good way to begin the book and helped me get excited about reading the rest of the book. This habit talks about taking responsibility for your life and the decisions you make. A wonderful quote related to this habit was by Abraham Lincoln, "People are just about as happy as they make their mind to be." Some days whenever I first get up, I tell myself I'm just having a bad day. As that day comes to an end, I soon realize that if I would have changed my attitude that morning, I could have had a much more enjoyable day.

Habit 4: Win-win, needs some work in my life. Most of the time if things don't go my way I get very irritated. Especially when things don't go the way I want and the other person involved get exactly what they were wanting, maybe a little extra. I also get worked up when I have to "split" getting the way with another person. This habit showed me that having a win-win attitude can get you so much farther than a Win-Lose attitude.

One of my favorite quotes from this book was, "Differences create the challenges in life that open the door to discovery." Many times I find myself staying away from any type of change, but this quote kind of inspired me to go towards differences and discoveries.

This book helped me a lot in finding out what areas of life I need to improve on, and showing ways to make those improvements. It is very highly recommended for any type of student.