Well today is a great day to be giving thanks! Some of you might think, “Yeah well today isn’t Thanksgiving.” You are very correct, but today IS my birthday. Today, I turn 25. Yeah, I kind of got all excited “slash” scared when my friend texted me last night “3.5 hours left of being 24.” I don’t think 25 is old but I certainly didn’t expect to be where I am today when I was 15 years old.

When I was 15, I had a life changing experience. A car accident. It changed me for the better. I used to be an extreme perfectionist. Like extreme. After the accident, I learned that it’s okay to get a “C” grade because it’s not the end of the world. I ended up winning 4 business awards and had the chance to speak at conferences and youth forums. I also thought when I was 15 that I would be married and have kids by the time I was 25 (ooooh 15 year old me cracks me up!)

Today, 10 years later, I am living in London ON and I work part-time and go to school full-time. I never thought I would be studying criminology and I never thought I would be working at a “small boutique law firm” as my boss puts it. But I am thankful.

Approximately 5 years ago (I get this time frame mixed up a lot and I don’t know why probably because those years were a bit hazy), I moved to London ON. I showed up at a door step with 6 bags and the guy I started working for joked with me, “What are you doing, moving here?” Yes, I said. He just looked at me and said, “Oh.”

It was a long time before I realized that I couldn’t be living the lifestyle I was living anymore. Well okay maybe not a long time, but to me it felt like a long time. Within about 9 months, I finally applied to college and got my own apartment (My address was NFA for a really long time–again what felt like a long time to me but probably not for others).

I am thankful for the decisions I made both good and bad. It was probably a bad idea for me to move to London ON on my own at 20 years old with no actual real employment or real place to live. It was actually pretty scary for me. But had I not made that “bad decision” I probably would have never made the decision to go to college. I now have my law clerk diploma (graduated with a 3.98 GPA HEEEEY!).

I am thankful for my family and the support they have given me in everything that I have done. I know that they didn’t approve of a lot of the decisions I made (the bad ones I must add), but they were always there for me. I am thankful for that.

I now, in approximately 5 years, learned more about myself and life in general than I would have had I not moved to London. It’s been a great journey with as many downs as there are ups but as I keep saying over and over to myself that I am so thankful for this journey. For my family. My friends. My experiences. My life.

So whether you celebrate thanksgiving or not, just remember to give thanks to all those in your life and pat yourself on your back 😉