A valued education

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family. To reflect on the things that we are grateful for and to take a moment and appreciate the opportunities that we have been presented.

I am thankful for my amazing family and friends that I have been given. Without them I truly would have nothing.

As corny as it sounds, I am thankful for my Mary Kay business. Some people are struggling to find work right now and I am thankful that I have been presented with an opportunity to work my business out of a full service salon and spa.

Three days a week I get to help women feel good about their selves. For the couple of hours that our incredible clients are at the salon they get to forget about screaming children, a dirty house, what they’re cooking for dinner and some even deeper issues. The fantastic women at The Strand and I get to enrich women’s lives and not only make them look good, but feel empowered as well.

If I had to tell you one thing that I am mainly fond of and appreciate the most it would be my education. Anyone who knows me well could tell you that I value my education and the education of others.

I am so appreciative that I have had the opportunity to attend Piedmont and receive an interesting liberal arts education. I am more grateful that I was able to take time off to handle life, but when I was ready to pick up where I left off that Piedmont readmitted me and allowed me to finish the journey that I had started.

In today’s scarce job market a person needs an education to compete for good paying jobs. The greatest part is that we all can attend a post secondary institution. Colleges and Universities alike have developed a completely different set of criteria to accept non-traditional students. Most schools, including Piedmont, have gone above and beyond and created scholarships just for these students. A post secondary education has never been more accessible.

I met a beautiful woman the other day. She was as sweet as she could be, but extremely uneducated. My heart went out to her. As I was talking to her and listening to her speak about her financial troubles, I realized that she could very well remain in her financial dilemma. She doesn’t possess an education that could help her advance to a higher paying job. She doesn’t have the people skills, professional skills or initiative to do more. The saddest part, she is so uneducated, she doesn’t know she can change her situation.

I am blessed to have a job right now, but I am thankful that when I finish my education at Piedmont I will have choices. I will have the choice to use my education and start a new chapter in my life. I will have the choice to further my education. I will have a choice to obtain a job that requires a higher education.

I will have a choice whether to move ahead or stand still.

Thanksgiving

I am most thankful for Christmas break. It is a good deal longer than the one I had in grade school, before I went to college. I went to school here in Habersham County. Accoding to the Habersham County Board of Education's website, students around the county will be released early on Fri. Dec. 19, and continue to be out of school until the 6th of January. This means that students in elementary, middle and high schools in Habersham have 18 days of vacation. According to Piedmont's Registrar webpage, our Christmas break begins on Dec. 10, which is the last day of finals. We can start ealier depending on whether we are done with finals before hand. We don't start our next semester until the 8th of January. This means we have 29 or more days (depending on finals) to use for Christmas break. So if you do the math, we have 11 more days of Christmas break than the Habersham schools do. Eleven days might not make the difference to some people, but to me, 11 more days is great. Especially after working so hard for a semester. I still have to work a temporary job to continue making money. However, no homework for almost a month and no stress over projects is a dream come true. Yep...Christmas break is definitley what I'm most thankful for.

THANKFULNESS

As Thanksgiving approaches the rush and choas of everyday life subsides and sincere thoughts of thankfulness come to mind. Thankfulness is that positive emotion in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. To me there is no better benefit to be thankful for than the men and women overseas serving America and protecting Americans' right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The CATO Institute says at any given time " The United States has over 200,000 troops stationed in 144 countries and territories. Also, it usually has another 20,000 sailors and Marines deployed afloat on Navy ships." Sometimes I wonder if the men and women overseas know just how grateful their fellow Americans are for them. No thank you, care package or hug could thank the soldiers enough for what they stand for and protect. It is these willing souls that endure the hardships of war to defend Americans' freedom. Stats from the website InfoPlease show dating back to the Revoluntary war an estimated 1,089,137,435 men and women have paid the ulimate sacrifice in defense of their fellow Americans. Not only am I thankful but I am envious of the courage and bravery of the heroic stars that serve and protect the very country I live in. I could not imagine a day where I were to be put on the front lines of defense for America. A time when I was the next man between terror on the homeland and my fellow Americans living in freedom. I am a man of thankfulness and gratitude for all our armed forces.

Music: One of Things I am Thankful for

One of the things I am thankful for is music. Music is a way to expressing yourself and your emotions. A piece of music is often a snippet into a person’s life and their feelings about life. It is a medium that is often personal, yet it can be shared with the entire world. It is truly a worldwide medium; music can be found almost everywhere.
I think there is hardly a day where I go without hearing some form of music. From the simple song of a little bird in a tree to the melodies of the choral groups at Piedmont’s Center of Worship and Music, I’m always hearing it. I cannot live without it. Sure, I don’t agree with some of the lyrics of some songs, but music has such a wide selection, I don’t have to listen to them. I can simply listen to the style of music that suits me best.
Music is also one of those things that isn’t hard to make. A person can simply tap their toes or beat a rhythm with their hands on a table to create a beat. And then, you can get others to join in with their voice or another sound. It isn’t long before you have the potential of creating a song, with or without words.
Music is also a uniting art form. People often get together and make the music they enjoy. Think about it; if all the music of the world disappeared today, people could still come together and make more. Even if you took away all the instruments, they could still make it with their voice or their hands. Music is universal. There are different styles, but they all came about from some one making a beat; finding that rhythm.

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving the time that we feast on turkey and dressing and spend time with family and friends. Every November we acknowledge a day and take the time out to appreciate everything that we are thankful for. When I sit at the dinner table with my family and friends I realize what I am thankful for.I’m thankful that I am healthy and have no disabilities or diseases. I have helped many people that has had disabilities and diseases doing community service projects and volunteer work with my fraternity, which made me very aware that I was truly blessed to be as healthy as I am. Having the luxury of walking, talking, and hearing everyday is something that I could not imagine living without, but I have met people that could not do any of these task, and I seen the frustrations and struggles that they have everyday. So I am very thankful for being healthy.
I’m also thankful to have both of my parents in my life. Throughout my life both of my parents has been apart of my upbringing, even though they were separated. Having both my mom and dad in my life was a big deal for me because growing up in the inner city can have an effect on what you may do as a teenager because of what you see around you. My dad was there to steer me towards the right things and my mom was there to support and nurture me. Most of my friends did not have this type of support from their parents and have now chose to do some of the wrong things in life. Having both parents in the upbringing of a child is very important, and I’m very thankful that I have had both of my parents support me.
The year 2008 is coming to a close and 2009 will begin, but it will begin with a new president in office. I am very thankful to be in a generation and time to see history made in a presidential election. Barack Hussein Obama II was elected president who is the first African American president ever elected in the history of the presidential election. I was very happy when he was elected because I got to witness history and because I never though that this would happen in my lifetime. So I am very thankful for having the opportunity to see the 2008 presidential election.

Thanksgiving, unlike other holidays, has the potential to be simple. One does not "miss the point" of the Thanksgiving while sitting at a food packed table, thinking about turkeys and pilgrims. I'll admit, I feel a little guilty taking on over Santa on Jesus' birthday or stuffing myself with Cadbury Eggs and Peeps on the day of his resurrection. For this and many other reasons, I am thankful.
I am thankful for my family, friends, and all the good things I am blessed with, but there is one aspect of my life for which I am particularly thankful. I am thankful to have the choice to worship... or not. Being raised in a conservative Southern Baptist family, I am thankful for those values which were instilled in me. On the flip side of that, I enjoy the choice to believe those values and draw from other religions as well. Personally, I am a Baptist who thinks Buddhism has perks and believes the principles of the Islamic faith are worthy. Where else could I even think that out loud, but in the United States of America? Though we complain about many of our nations policies, for this one, we should all be thankful. Although the U.S. is 85% Christian, we also have the freedom to be nine percent Atheist, two tenths percent Hindu, and the largest Jewish nation in the world (www.adherents.com). We are not forced into one national religion and are even encouraged to explore our own decisions regarding faith.
Baptist, Buddhist, believer or not- you should be thankful for this right, this freedom, to worship... or not as you wish.

THANKS-giving...

It’s that time of year again, time to gather with family, grab a seat at the table, loosen up the waistline of your pants, and inhale every possible casserole and pie in sight. Thanksgiving comes along every year and rarely do I take time to stop and think about what I’m thankful for beyond the hash-brown casserole and turkey sitting on my plate. Now that I think about it, I’m thankful for many things. Family and friends come to mind first, then pets and the basic necessities of life, but I want to look deeper.
I am thankful that I had a chance to visit and tour Yankee Stadium before it closed its doors this year. I had a chance to walk on the same ground as some of baseball’s greatest players, such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter, and it almost brings a tear to my eye to see it go. Yankee Stadium and the 37 World Series that it hosted will never be forgotten. Speaking of the World Series, I’m also thankful that baseball’s powerhouses didn’t win it this year. The Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies made for a refreshing World Series and a different look at baseball altogether.
I am thankful that I live in a country where I have a say. Politics has never been something that has been interesting to me but with all of the Presidential campaigning going on, I followed more closely this year. I am thankful that I had a chance to cast my first presidential vote this year, and regardless of who won, I am also very thankful that the election is over.
As my days as a college undergrad come to a close I find myself looking at things differently. I’m not thankful that it’s over, because I will miss this place. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to attend such a wonderful college. Many people never get the chance to go to college and without my family I wouldn’t have either. This brings me back to family, I am thankful for mine. I am in a position to do whatever I want to do with my life because of them. They have been my support system for the last 21 years and as I get ready to embark on my own journey through the craziness of life, I know I’ll always have the security of home to return to. That is truly something to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving

Due November 12, 2008: What are you thankful for?