Thanksgiving is such a beautiful holiday for many reasons, and it starts with the idea of being thankful for something in your life. For many of us, we’ve been asked the question “what are you thankful for?” and every year. When that moment comes, I never can present the right answer within a short statement. There are so many things in my life that I’m truly thankful for because of the different types of outlook on life that I obtain. I’m thankful for family and friends. I’m thankful for the upbringing of my childhood that my parents have given me throughout my life. The list can go on and on.
What may take people by surprise when they ask me what I’m thankful for is when I want to answer “I’m truly thankful for imperfections, for failing, being wrong, making mistakes, and being different.” They would look at me like I’m crazy, but I would explain my reasoning for why these are some of the things I’m thankful for. Being imperfect, in my opinion, helped me realize that perfection does not exist in the eyes of people who are happy just the way they are. You’ll never be able to capture the beauty of happiness if you get lost by always trying to search for perfection. Albert Einstein once stated “If you’ve never failed, you’ve never tried anything new.” Along with Abraham Lincoln stated “If you have never failed you have never lived.” Both of these phenomenal quotes capture the essence of how life is full of failures. You just have to know when to keep following the yellow brick road.
Being wrong about the things I’ve thought were right isn’t always the best feeling, but once you accept the fact that there are many different opinions in the world, it will be easier for you to recognize a situation in a different point of view you’ve never considered. Mistakes are what gives us that emotional feeling of failure, but mistakes can in fact become beautiful heartfelt lessons that remind us that we can do better and become better versions of ourselves. Lastly, being thankful for being different allows me to look in the mirror and see the reflection of someone who is not perfect, failed at so many things in life, may have been wrong about many situations, and definitely has made some mistakes. Yet I’ve grown to love my imperfections, laugh at my many failed attempts, accept that it’s okay to be wrong and not always right, and begin to learn from my mistakes. As this processes through my head as I’m being asked “what are you thankful for,” I finally give the answer “I’m thankful for those who love me and accept me just the way I am.”