Dream big and accomplish what you've set out to do...

Instead of writing down what makes me unhappy and miserable, I decided that this post will be about everything I'm grateful for. Everyone should try this, think about what you want to make room for in your heart, your life, your relationships. Dream big and try to accomplish as many goals as you possibly can. So here I go:

First, what I want to make room for is happiness and joy. I want to make room for art and books, my pen and paper. I want to make room for love and seeing the better side of things. I want to make room for all of the happiness that people spread all over. Now that I have that down here are a FEW things/people that I am grateful for:

I am so grateful for my sister. Without her, I never would've discovered what it felt like to be a role model and to look after someone. She can make the crappiest day so much better and makes me laugh with her silly words. She has the most genuine heart and has so many friends - everyone loves her, she's someone you just want to be around. She only sees the best in people and believes in her friends and her family - that they can be the best they can be. We've both gone through so much together over the last few years and while we hardly got a long since we were little, something has changed and she truly has become my best friend.

I am grateful for my mother, who put me through school and supported me in the thing I love most in this world, riding horses. She has always believed that I can do anything I set my mind to, and typically uses that against me to teach me that I must make my own decisions. I've chosen some pretty overgrown paths over the past few months, paths I'm still paving and trimming, waiting on how they're going to pan out - but she has helped me create them so that they can continue to lengthen and I can keep moving forward.

I am grateful for my boyfriend, Chris. We've been together almost a year and he has stayed by my side through some of the most difficult chapters in my life so far. From graduating college, a divorce, my first full-time job and from my many ups and downs that have appeared over the last six months. He has continued to support me and be a shoulder to cry on through everything. He has become the only person (other than my sister) that I can rely on and trust to the furthest spot in space. His type A personality, that sometimes aggravates me to my core, is what holds us together through some of the toughest times. And our relationship is more than just that, we have never put pressure on each other, we've been going with the flow and things have been working out in such unexpected ways. The two things we expect from one another is communication and just accepting each other for who we are. He's such an awesome person and I wouldn't be able to picture my life without him.

I am grateful for my horses. The horses I have owned/leased/ridden, each one taught me something different about myself. Each one, having a different personality, taught me to be open minded, to never give up on someone or something, and to keep pursuing my dreams. They have always been such a big part of my life and I am not me without them.

Finally (even though I'm grateful for so much more, this post would go on and on and on), my friends. I am grateful to all of you. The new friends, the friends I've lost touch with, you're all such a HUGE part of my life and I love you all so much.

One last thought: Even in the toughest of times, when nothing seems to be going right, or all you can think of is everything that's become a burden try to take a deep breathe and remember everything in your life that doesn't make you want to scream and give up (or run to another country in my case). Whether it be the sun shinning, peppermint ice cream, the holiday spirit, just please try to remember the joyful things in life. Take a chance on something or someone, because when you take a chance you have no idea how that just changed your life. Everyone deserves to find happiness in their life and with the seasons changing and the greyness of the sky on some days, it may be hard to see the upside of things. But I promise you, just remember all the things that make you happy, where you've come from since last year, the people you have met throughout your life...each person you meet adds a little something to who you are: a self discovery, a change in how you view the world, a memory that makes you smile. So SMILE and be happy.