By: Shawnna Grace, contributing intern (@shawnnagracee)

With all the tragedy our world has been dealing with recently, it truly makes you sit back and think about how short and unpredictable life can be. Life also can be so taken for granted.  With the recent acts of terror that have struck our world and left us with such fear of the unknown and terrible loss, it had me realizing how much my friends and family do for me that go unrecognized. I am sure you can relate.  In result, I am dedicating this article to my family and friends and thanking them for all they do for me every single day and sometimes they may not even know they are helping me with their gestures.

I don’t even know where to begin with thanking the people in my life. For all they do for me, I decided to make a list of the things they do. I hope this inspires you to do the same and maybe you can have similar things done for you that you can thank them for.

Thank you for…

  1. Not judging me on the days I did not have the motivation to change into cute clothes, do my make up or even brush my hair.
  2. Sharing a pizza and some ice cream with me so I do not have to pig out alone.
  3. Holding me back from sending that text that I would regret sending to an ex or anyone and making me truly think it through.
  4. Doing absolutely nothing with me on the days I never felt like doing anything and wanted to have a lazy day with just laying on some couches talking about who know what.
  5. Listening to insane vent sessions about the boy of the month, bad grades, or some Internet trolls, and laughing along crying along or just supporting me with advice and just by listening.
  6. Knowing “what’s wrong” and being there for the nights when I wanted to cry myself to sleep and the days I did not want to get out of bed.
  7. The late night phone conversations and laughs
  8. Making me change when you didn’t like my outfit
  9. Dropping everything you are doing and coming over when I needed you
  10. Letting me know I deserve better, and not to give up on love.
  11. Supporting my choices…even when they are wrong
  12. Keeping me entertained with some ugly faces on Snapchat
  13. Knowing exactly what I need before I do
  14. Liking every Instagram picture …and taking 90% of them
  15. Giving me a hug when I need it the most and being a shoulder to cry on
  16. Loaning me money for pointless items you knew I did not truly need
  17. Making me laugh
  18. Providing me with an infinite number of amazing memories
  19. Loving me unconditionally
  20. Being YOU!

The list could go on forever and ever, but I am ending it here. Thank you to all the amazing people in my life, I do not thank you enough.  It is sad that tragedies like this snap you out of a fantasy and prove to you life is so crazy and unpredictable. I want to be sure that my family and friends know that I love them and am so grateful for all they do. With this, I challenge you to thank all of your loved ones and show them how much you love and care for them in a simple way like this.