Grateful.

Despite the struggling economy I am undoubtedly happy this holiday season. This is the first year I've been able to buy a full set of presents for my family basically by myself. I don't get many hours at my job, or earn more than $9 an hour, but I feel like I've been doing a good deal of saving and was able to pull through.
The last month or so has seen me through a lot of little things piling up, all my fault, but mistakes I would never make prior to getting sick. In one night, I locked my keys in the car and then got the same car impounded. A bad fall, losing a wallet for two weeks, cutting a finger down to the bone, being behind in classes, and many other mishaps seemed to define my life. But I had family willing to miss events to drive me a set of keys, call towing companies, friends willing to chip in for a meal, give me a place to stay, drive me around Baltimore, professors offering extra help and understanding and everyone giving words of confidence. It was truly amazing and purely inspiring.
I am still sick and still trying to watch my step, but as I drove home from my friends apartment and I rolled down the windows and turned Say Anything up, I felt alive again. I had been receiving the comment, "You just don't look like yourself," for ten weeks now, and it was just saddening that I was harboring this illness that would never leave and change me forever. So many people said they never felt the same after having mono, and that's damn scary. Hopefully I'll get back to being the girl with too much energy for her own good.