As a child, this November holiday is a wonderful celebration of family and food, a gathering of relatives seldom seen and a serious feasting on turkey and green bean casserole (a tradition that has actually died in a few short years in my mothers home..)

However, as I have grown, the nature of the celebration has somewhat changed and lent itself to a more thoughtful and personal approach--an opportunity to discover more about myself in relation to those things that have really made an impact in my life.

These are the things that I have come up with:

Hooping, naturally. It is such a vital and positive outlet. It is creative and active. Personal and social. Comforting and safe, yet each new step pushes the limits. It's something to work for and strive to learn from, which I think is an important thing for anyone to have. The hoop provides me self motivation based on desire and passion, something I, personally, never want to lose.

Love. It comes in many forms, and I am so very blessed to be so incredibly surrounded by so much love. The kind of love that fills your heart and makes it feel like it is overflowing.

Inspiration. I am lucky enough to have friends that not only lift me up as a person but push me to want to be more. It is a wonderful feeling, having such respectable and beautiful people to look up to and learn from. And to be inspired to look more into myself and actively better myself! Venturing deep into the self is a process, not reached overnight, I have realized. It is a path I have so much further to travel, with so many corners to peer into. Truly devoting time and energy to ones own soul and inner voice is something that has become very important to me.

In all, I am so inexpressibly grateful for the gifts that have been granted to me in this life. Life itself truly is the most wonderful of all.

Thank you all for making it what it is :)