The goal of this post is for me to be able to come back and look at what I’m thankful for. To have a visible reminder of the good in my life, rather than just trying to come up with it on the spot. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

1. I’m thankful for my supportive parents and my caring siblings. I feel lucky to say I have a good relationship with them all.
2. I’m thankful for the lifelong friends I’ve made along the way.
3. For my dogs and cat, obviously. They provide me comfort in the simplest ways.
4. I’m thankful for the random strangers that smile at me when I make eye contact. It really brightens up a gloomy day.
5. For all the opportunities I’ve been presented with and the people who’ve pushed me in the right direction.
6. I’m thankful I’ve made as much growth as I’ve had. Teen Maddie wouldn’t even recognize adult Maddie.
7. Finally, I’m thankful for the people who do good just because. Strangers that help with flat tires, friends that provide support, siblings that will keep secrets, etc.

That was a bit longer than 10 seconds, but I was on a roll and there is no such thing as being too thankful.

Let’s move on to what was supposed to be the 10 second drawing, but really ending up being around 2 minutes.

Needless to say, my high school art teacher would be proud. It looks just like me.

For this second writing assignment we were suppose to time ourselves for 10 seconds and in those 10 seconds come up with a list of things we are thankful for. For “bonus points” we were told to draw a picture of ourselves in 10 seconds as well.

Here is what I came up with:

This list is short mostly because I only had 10 seconds, but, it is also short because this is what is most important in my life. After I wrote the list I wondered why I put family and parents separate, and even though these two things are the same, I still can’t decide. I am also not surprised that I put soccer because I am very thankful for soccer and all the opportunities it has brought me these past 18 years (yes I have been on an organized soccer team since I was 3)! I am also thankful for animals, particularly my pets. Although they can be a pain sometimes, they have brought so much joy to my family. Without pets a home would feel so empty- even if there are kids running around. They bring a sense of protection as well to the home.

Before I started the timer, I prepared myself by grabbing a piece of paper and pen, unfortunately the color was green. But then I proceeded to start the timer and began to write down things I was thankful for. After than I started the timer again and drew this picture of me. I maaay have overdone it on time by 3 seconds but I had to get the eyebrows juuust right.

Overall I enjoyed this assignment and reminded me what I am thankful for!

Finally, I chose a timed writing assignment that was 2.5 stars totaling 8.5 stars. This assignment says that you have 10 seconds to say all the things you are thankful for. As a bonus, you also get 10 seconds to draw a self-portrait. I had ti force myself to not think about what I would write prior to starting the assignment because otherwise it would be like I got more than 10 seconds. I decided to do this in the midst of club activities so that I wouldn’t have time to overthink anything. Here is out my process went:

Setting up the timer. Start:

My mom, my dad, my family, friends, my education, my health.

I definitely thought I would able to get more than this, but in a way I suppose the short time span forces you to truly prioritize what you are thankful for.

10 seconds for a self portrait…

This was actually better than anticipated. Two of my most obvious features are my glasses and curly hair so I figured those would be the most important to highlight in a self portrait no matter how quick.

Overall, I believe the point of this assignment was focus. Focus on what is most important to you since you only have 10 seconds to write them. Focus on your most defining features since you only have 10 seconds to draw them. With more time, my picture probably would not have turned out any different because I am a bad artist at best, but with more time I could have filled pages with things I am thankful for. But with this assignment, my brain went to the most important things: my friends and family that support me, mt education that allows me to grow as a person, and my health that allows me to experience life. These are things that make my life better and I am grateful for them every day.

The writing assignment I decided to do was 10 Seconds of Thanks. I really liked this assignment because it was something that I could truly express how I feel about all the things for which I give thanks, but also because it is quick and makes you really think. 

After 10 seconds…

I’m Thankful for:

Mandy

Care Group

Family

Life

YAF

Each of the items I put down have a significant impact on my life. The first item is my bulldog, Mandy. Mandy is my world, she makes me smile when I’m at my lowest and for that I’m thankful. She’s been around since I was in 7th grade and I don’t know how I made it through life without her before then. She’s absolutely wonderful.

And for the added affect… here’s a photo of her:

The second item on my list was Care Group. Care Group is the Christian community that I attend on Thursday nights. They have become my family since November of 2016 and I wouldn’t have made it through freshman year without them. I’ve made so many friends through this group and seeing the ministry grow since I joined has been such a blessing.

I would hazard to guess that a lot of people say they’re thankful for their family and for me it’s the same. I love them so much and I’m thankful that they made me who I am today and that I’ve grown so much at their hands. I’m very close with all of my family members from my maternal grandmother’s sister’s children and grandchildren to my half-sister, Sarah. I love them all and couldn’t get through life without them.

My father’s side of the family doesn’t take many pictures together, but they mean just as much to me.

Here’s a picture of just me and my grandma… she’d kill me if she knew it was on here.

I’m thankful for life. That one is pretty self explanatory, without life I wouldn’t have any thing to be thankful for. So, I’m thankful to be alive and for all of the opportunities that I’ve had because I’m alive.

And last, but not least… I’m thankful for YAF. YAF is Young Americans for Freedom and it’s a conservative non-profit that works to promote free speech, free enterprise, a strong national defense, individual freedoms, and traditional American values. I have been given so many opportunities because of YAF and continue to be given more. I attended CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and was able to hear founding YAF members at a luncheon given by Young America’s Foundation, YAF’s non-profit sponsor. I was able to see speakers like Dinesh D’souza, Mike Pence, Rand Paul, and more because YAF allowed me to attend a conference. Without YAF, my views wouldn’t be as strong as they are today and I wouldn’t have the knowledge about different topics that I currently do. I’m the chapter chair of YAF at UMW and I can’t wait to see what the UMW chapter accomplishes!

Here’s a photo of me at a YAF Conference at their headquarters in Reston, VA:

Being thankful is so important and I loved doing this assignment because I was able to sum myself up in 5 things by saying how thankful I was for each.

Gratitude is an essential characteristic to have. It allows you to have a positive outlook on life instead of a negative outlook. I am usually a very negative person and I don’t tend to look at the positives in my life. I wanted to do this exercise to help myself learn gratitude and understand that it depends on the way you look at situations that determine their outcome. Below are the items that came to me in ten seconds that I was thankful for in my life.

• My friends
• My family
• Having a car
• My apartment
• A job when I graduate
• The ability to get a college education

All of the items above play a key role in my life and sometimes I take them for granted. Especially the privilege to get a college education and to already have a job lined up before I graduate. This was a great exercise and I encourage others to try to practice gratitude in their lives everyday. I know I am going to strive to be more grateful.

Below are are of the things I could type in 10 seconds that I’m thankful for. In hindsight, I should have added Joe Biden’s dank memes, but those 10 seconds went by too quick for me.

• My health
• my girlfriend
• my family
• dog
• running
• coaches
• teammates
• UMW

This was a fun and interesting mission because I learned about myself during it. I cleared my head before I hit my timer so that what came to my mind was real and authentic, not rehearsed. I pulled up a Word Doc to make it faster to jot down ideas and I think this list is pretty indicative of my life and what I’m thankful for right now in my life.