I remember when this was an assignment in elementary school. We just had to write out ten things we were grateful for. Back then, I was young and didn’t really care, this “Thanksgiving” stuff had no sentimental value to me. All I cared about was the fewd. Thank Neptune I grew up and stopped taking everything for granted, so lets get started with this super sincere list.

+1 for open mouthed pictures!
1. Parents
I am so freaking grateful to my dad. I am so freaking happy that he’s alive and well. To be honest, if he didn’t make it, I wouldn’t know what to do. He makes up such a huge part of this family. He is the man responsible for me having a car for transportation, a MacBook for school, weekly allowances so I don’t starve, gas money, and so much more. Before I started working, he also gave me spending money whenever I needed it, but I’m all grown up now dad, so no need no more. I don’t think I can express in words how much gratitude I have towards him. Every Christmas I always want to spoil this man, but he’s super simple and already has everything that he needs. He never askes for much, which makes me feel guilty because I’m always asking for so much. He also taught me how to not drive like a female Asian, but I think its too late cause its in the genes to drive badly ;w;

I also love my mom a lot. Oh. My. Gawd. So freaking grateful to her. Yeah, most of the financial aspect of my life comes from my dad, but money can’t buy everything. She is an amazing cook and taught me so much in life. Even though she’s really strict, I know she loves us a lot because of her strictness. She secretly spoils us though. If we ask for something, she won’t give it to us at first but then she feels guilty and gives it to us anyways. Gah! Makes me feel so bad. For formals, my mom always makes sure that Trang & I have a nice dress and pretty nails. My mom’s more of the fancier side of life cause my dad wouldn’t care about any of that stuff. When my dad was in the hospital and all of my siblings & I couldn’t do anything due to our weakness/sadness, she took care of us. She never showed an ounce of weakness. She cooked us a fresh&yummy meal three times a day, did laundry, did dishes, cooked for my dad, etc. She was freaking amazing super mom. Mommy also pays for my college tuition & paid for my ridiculous braces ;x

Yes, I know I look scary

2. Siblings
I know my siblings and I don’t get along ALL the time but we do like 99.8% of the time. Even if we don’t get along, it’ll take like ten minutes until we’re cool again. I love them for laughing at my really really lame jokes, protecting me from creepers, being the most super dependable people I know, and patting my back when I vomit. My siblings & I actually made a pact a few years ago. We cannot date anyone without sibling approval. Yeah, seems silly to most people, but that’s how close we are. (Actually my siblings have really high standards compared to me so we butt heads on this a lot, but we’re just looking out for each other.) These are the people I grew up DDRing with, playing video games, playing computer games, playing MMORPGs, playing Magic: The Gathering, playing Yu-Gi-Oh & Pokemon the trading card game together with. To be honest, I don’t know how I would have gotten through all the tough times without them.

3. Phana, Kaye, & Debbie
I met both Phana&Kaye in middle school and met Debbie on my first day of college. These people have made such a huge impact on my life, especially Phana. I have told her everything about my life that no one else knows. She’s the best listener in the world is super congenial. We share the same views on almost everything and have supported each other through everything. Sometimes I feel like she’s a better friend to me than I am to her, and it makes me feel bad cause that’s not what I want. Phana is one of those friends that you keep for a lifetime. Before I started college, I was so afraid that I would lose her. I kept on asking college students if they lost touch with someone because they went to a different college to see if our friendship would turn out the same. Thank goodness it didn’t cause I don’t know what I would do without her.

Kaye, Kaye, Kaye. How can I put this into words? You know how Beyonce has that alter ego as Sasha Fierce? Well Kaye is my Sasha Fierce. I haven’t met anyone with so much spunk as her. I love her cause she threatens anyone who tries to hurt me. She’s the one to drag me out into the middle of the night to get wasted or to eat fatty fried foods. During freshman year when I was so obviously withdrawing myself into a small emo corner, she tried really hard to get me to go out and meet people. To be honest, her efforts failed horribly cause I am too awkward for words to try & hang out with normal people, but she really cared about me and I love her for that too. Yeah we fight a lot, but she’s always the even-tempered one to make up first. Way more mature than I.

Debbie is like. . . I don’t even know where to start. The missing puzzle piece in my life? (LOL!) She’s the only person I’ve met in my lifetime who doesn’t care what other people think which leads to us doing the craziest, silliest things together. Okay, maybe she’s crazier than me, but I’m getting there. Geezus, don’t know how I would’ve survived college without her. She is the only real super close friend I made at school cause making awesome friends on college is really hard. We take a lot of our classes together, make fun of the professors together, pass/fail tests together, study/not study together, get distracted in class together. We are basically bad influences on each other, but Debbie’s a much harder worker than I am so I hope my slack isn’t rubbing off on her D; Well actually, she also encourages me to skip class, so maybe her slack is rubbing off on me too @_@;;

4. Anyone who has put up with me
I am self-diagnosed with something that I named as the, “Nguyen Sibling Syndrome.” Basically my siblings and I have this thing where we’ll just start treating someone we really care (usually someone that we’re dating) about really coldly. I actually have no idea why we do this cause even though we’re close, we don’t hang out together enough for us to all behave this way cause we’re rubbing off on each other. Maybe its a hereditary thing. But anyway, I know I’ve said some really harsh & cold things in the past and I’m really sorry for it. Trang is actually working her way to stop doing that, but Nam & I are still kinda bleh.

5. Work
Haha, I know I complain about work a lot, but I am really grateful for work. If it wasn’t for work, I would still be the sheltered little Asian girl who knew nothing about the world and had no real opinions on anything. I love my coworkers & have been blessed with working with the awesomest managers through my retail career. If it wasn’t for work, I would’ve never known there was a life aside from school – college – work. That its (probably not okay but) common to work in retail after getting a college degree. I really love my coworkers/managers. They really cared about me when I was afraid my ex-boyfriend was going to stalk me outside my store, or when my dad was in the hospital. They’re not afraid to scold me when I’m wrong or give me advice when I’ve lost my way. A lot of them are super opinionated and its okay, cause I like to hear different views on things to expand my horizon even though I have no absolute opinion on anything.

There are so many things to be thankful for & I am especially thankful to still be alive.