Give Thanks

I thought of something else I am incredibly grateful for. This country! I am so thankful that I can enjoy so many freedoms and protections that are provided by this country. No matter how dour the situation looks, I give thanks that I can have the opportunity to write my thoughts candidly, to worship who and how I wish to, and to know that I can now have a say in how legislation and leaders are put in place. 

This country was built upon such a land of opportunity. When the pilgrims sojourned "across the pond", which actually is a lot more than a hop, skip, and a jump, they began a tradition of thanking their Lord for all the blessings that had come to them by leaving England and finding a way to worship. Our Founding Fathers followed suit in this tradition. If any of you have time, I would HIGHLY recommend reading George Washington's Thanksgiving Address, it is worth your time, trust me. Thanksgiving did not become the national holiday it is until the times of Abraham Lincoln. When the 16th president addressed this great nation, amidst the throes of the Civil War and the Slavery debate, he gave a beautiful and eloquent Thanksgiving Address. This short speech solidified the holiday in American tradition. I want to quote one line that is particularly inspiring. 

 "It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people."

-Abraham Lincoln, Oct. 3rd, 1863

He certainly had a way with words, didn't he? Thank you, Honest Abe. Take a moment and be grateful for this country that we live in and for the "certain unalienable rights" we all so freely enjoy. 

This is Meg, signing off. 


IN CASUS PERGIT

Gratitude 2!

Back again! Hooray! I'm going to completely honest and pull back the curtain here and let you know that the reason I'm finally writing is that I have time to! School has slowed down a bit now that I have finished most of my assignments that professors seem to all require right before Thanksgiving break. I still have my final paper about Disney Animation to turn in, but it is all set and ready to go, so no stress there. Thank heavens.

This paper has been an eye opening experience. Of course, it took my third writing class to finally realize that writing a research paper does NOT have to be about dry, dusty, boring questions that a teacher gives you. I made that mistake many times before; each time it made my writing experience miserable. Which is very unfortunate, because I plan on using writing in my career. What is the difference? Subject. I decided to write this time about something I am not ashamed to say makes me "geek out" for lack of a better term. The topic: Disney Animation.

That's what I am grateful for. Disney Animation has influenced me more than I previously realized. I was what some might call a "Disney Kid." Ask my parents, I would always rather watch a Disney movie. Then as I got older I would always rather watch a Star Wars movie, but seeing as that is now a part of Disney I guess you could say Disney was my childhood and adolescence. I am grateful for the fact that though there are many who would criticize what Disney portrayed in their films, I seemed to have absorbed the good attributes instead. Disney was my escape as a kid. If anyone asks my favorite Disney character I would say, and always will reply "Belle" simply for the fact that she had this amazing library and I used to read excessively in my preteen, and well into my teenage years. Here was a girl who was selfless enough to take her father's place as a prisoner, and ended up taming that awful beast into a tolerable, even endearing love. Buzz and Woody absolutely detested each other, however they were able to bond through their adversities and work together to make it home. Marlin shows that parents can and should cross oceans (physically or metaphorically) to help their children and sometimes crossing that distance brings you closer than ever before. Jasmine decided to change her own fate if no one else could change it for her... of course she ended up back at square on anyway and would have married one of the suitors (who happened to be Aladdin) had not Jafar become all powerful and all that jazz. Then there's Ariel who ran away from home at 16, thinking she was a woman, got her voice taken away, fell in love with the first male human she set eyes on, and has a seagull giving her life advice. So the Disney psychology is not perfect... I will admit that whole-heartedly. Heck, due to my research recently I can now crack the jokes with you. However, I can not deny that I was inspired by Disney's animated movies. They were probably one of the major reasons I was bitten by the film bug. To quote a rather obscure (and possibly shameful that I know) song, Disney reminds me that "There is a world of hope... if you can dream."

This is Megan, signing off.

 IN CASUS PERGIT

Attitude of Gratitude

     So I have been absolutely terrible about posting on this blog. I promise I have been thinking about it. I have pictures and tutorials to upload of the things I've been doing but I just haven't had the time (or the brain power) to actually edit something decent to be placed on the internet. 

Tonight, however, I feel that with the upcoming coming holiday next week I need to take a moment to write about what I am grateful for. In this stressful time for me, sometimes it is a wonderful break to think about what I've been given to realize that life isn't as bad as I originally thought. Hopefully, it will be entertaining (possibly even interesting) to read. 

I am grateful for... 

First and foremost is my family. Being away from them I realize just how much I depended on their love and support every day. Breaking away from that was a challenge that is still plaguing me today. I can't wait to go home and hear my brothers quote Nacho Libre together, complete with terrible Hispanic accents. Or see my sister practicing her beam routine in the living room while everyone else tries to watch TV. What is more exciting is the fact that this year will be the first time in a few years that I will see my extended family from my mother's side. After growing up about 45 minutes away from my grandparents' house, we would see them two to three times a month. Moving away, I hardly saw them. I love seeing my aunts and uncles and cousins and getting to play with the family who I miss so much. So many good memories have come out of that house. 

My room mates. They put up with so much of my shenanigans, they should be given a medal. Thank goodness I was placed with such sweet girls. We've become something of a family, celebrating our little triumphs together (We passed cleaning check!) and sharing many good memories (our Quote wall can prove it). Whether we are traipsing through the snow, or sitting down to watch The Scarlet Pimpernel, we have many different adventures together. 

Film. There is a reason that I have been quoting movies since I was a little girl. I know this was the chosen way for me and every day as I learn more and more about it I see that this is where I belong. The world of film is so creative and reflective and so expressive. I tremble to think about a world without movies. Where would we be as a society without the greats like Hitchcock, Sturgis, Spielberg, Scorsese, or Eastwood? I have to be extra grateful for what my film courses have taught me about the film experience and how through analysis I can enjoy movies even more (Skyfall was pretty brilliant in my new film viewing style)! 

I'll end with hand written letters. I have become slightly obsessed with letter writing lately and I can not thank my correspondents enough for their letters. Such magic is found in reading the actual handwriting of a friend who is far away. Though I have been writing to many of my very dear friends on their missions in many different countries, I've also found I can draw closer to friends who I have not spoken to in many years or siblings that I miss. To me there are two great joys in my stage of life: first of all is having my hair brushed by someone else, and secondly is receiving a hand written letter. Letters are so personal; they make you feel so loved and appreciated that someone took the time out of their day to compose a letter and send it along. Though it takes longer than a text or email, it is worth the wait to be able to see the piece of paper that they were holding and writing on at one point. That personal touch is what makes letter writing feel like a huge wave of endorphin running through you, making you smile like a lunatic as you hold your letter tightly as you try to walk back to your apartment as fast as you can in order to read it in good light. It is a dying art, but bygolly I'm going to keep it up until no one writes me back... even then I'll probably keep at it. 

Well, I'll go ahead and wrap this one up. I am sure that many of you probably haven't even made it this far, but to those who have, congratulations I should find you some sort of plastic medal and present it to you with a personal hug. I want to try and post some more Grateful Things the rest of this week so stay tuned :)

This is Meg, signing off. 

IN CASUS PERGIT