A Picture is Worth One Thousand Words

I’m having trouble finding words right now. This is my life, right now, in pictures and captions. And in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, these pictures also kind of serve as a visual guide for my gratefulness to be here. Right now. Today. For seven more months.

To stumble upon new friends…

  Only to find that they’re really not that interested in your friendship, after all…
And that you don’t really care.

To delicious German bier and new friends to fill in the gaps…

To the naked trees and their shivering silhouettes…

  To blue skies in November…

To green grass and disrupting the peace… I mean, geese…

To a city that still surprises me with its splendor…

To Germans and their strange and creepy corner shops…  

To American past-times brought to distant lands…

To discover that you’re still a tourist at heart…

To fitting it all inside of a picture frame…

To twilight at 4:45 pm…

To your favorite band touring Munich and to
really, really good friends who get you tickets for your birthday…

Also, if I had a pictures for the rest I would share but I am ever grateful for movie premier nights and unhealthy Harry Potter obsessions and to the friends who help me feed it and who still love me even after I thoroughly explain and complain about the scenes that were left behind in the pages of the book. I’m also grateful for thick scarves, an overabundance of gloves, warm coats, worn in Uggs, and stockings. And, over the weekend, I will be grateful for another year of life (that’s 24 now!) and good friends to celebrate with, even if they’re not the same friends from last year. I’m also grateful for good parents and strong love and the benefit of trust. I’m always thankful for my sister-cousin and her beautiful children and the promise of a hand-picked birthday present, sent overseas with love and care. I’m grateful for my experience here, even if it’s not what I first expected and even though I can’t afford to enjoy the better parts. I’m grateful for my surrogate Oma and her loving family and the way that I am always cared for, no matter where I am or how I struggle. I’m grateful for my life, for the love that I have for myself and all that is around me, for my experiences and the choices that I’ve made, and I’m grateful for the fact that I have the choice to regret taking a year away from my adult responsibilities but that I make the decision not to. Regret has no place in my grateful heart. I am thankful for everything, all of it, everyday.

What are you thankful for?