Gratitude

So very grateful.

by Katie Welker

I am grateful. So unbelievably overwhelmed with feelings of appreciation and thanks. No, I do not have it all. I haven’t been grocery shopping in weeks, I just ate my last 3 eggs for dinner, my winter coat is ‘so last season’ and i’m up to my ears in student loans.

But I have a roof over my head and a cozy apartment that after months of waiting and saving up, is finally starting to look like a home. I have the best friends a girl could ever ask for. I have a steady paycheck that comes from hard work done with an amazing group of people that I am proud to call not just my coworkers, but my friends. I have a family who despite their faults, would go to the end of the earth for one another and is never too shy to say ‘I love you’. Aside from a knocked up knee and a stiff back, my health is good and I am strong enough to go about my day with as much energy as a classroom full of kindergarteners right before recess.

My past has taught me lessons that have given me a beautiful present and a hopeful future. So today, I am grateful. I am optimistic, full of love, and so very happy to just be alive. What are you thankful for?

Look how far you’ve come.

by Katie Welker

Yesterday I found myself witnessing a situation that was similar to one that I was directly in the middle of eight months ago. One of my very close friends was heartbroken, and it broke my heart to see it and to know that I couldn’t make it better. Of course, I tried to anyways by filling my bag with her junk food of choice and listening as best as I could.

All I could really do was offer my honest, and somewhat brutal, point of view. Heartbreak sucks. It physically hurts. It will exhaust you and leave you feeling lonely, confused and somewhat belittled. But as I sat in my friend’s kitchen and told her, “This is the best thing for you. It was difficult, but you will be so much better because of it”, I realized that I truly believed those words that were coming out of my mouth.

I believe that one of the best feelings in the entire world is being faced with a gruesomely difficult obstacle, working through it, and then reflecting back and thinking, ‘damn… look how far I’ve come’. It is empowering. Those points in your life instill a confidence in you, toughen your skin and (hopefully) make you realize something very liberating: you are stronger than any obstacle you are faced with, more compassionate than anyone who tries to tell you otherwise and better than any situation that knocks you to rock bottom. Stand back up. Learn from your troubles. And become a better version of yourself because of them.