Maria Kirmani, Grade 12
MUWCI
Bullet point 10 things you are grateful for and why. They can be both small and big, simple and complex, etc, but elaborate on why you are grateful for those things, people, moments, etc (include anecdotes/stories/lessons!). Try to aim for around 450-500 words––when people read it it should add some value to their lives as well.
I am grateful for my occasional homesickness. Even though it’s a very rare occurance, the few times I miss my hometown, I don’t miss it on the surface, I miss it deeply. I miss it in a way where I can remember how the wind felt when it hit my face the last time I drove around Dal Lake in circles. I can remember the warmth of the hot pack my mom used to slip into my bed without fail on cold January nights. I can remember waking up to the smell of Harrisa and Noon Chai in the morning. I remember the lazy summers of cycling around my neighborhood with my friend because we had nothing better to do. I remember playing basketball after school until it was dark and getting an earful for coming home late. I remember bickering with my brother about who's gonna eat the last Shawarma roll even though I wasn’t hungry. Of course it’s melancholic that I miss it, but I’m grateful for this nostalgia because it is the kind that puts a smile on my face. The kind that brings me comfort when I’m suffering. Knowing that home doesn't necessarily equate comfort for everyone in this world, I’m grateful that I’m in the lot for whom it does.
I am grateful for change. It’s something that I desired desperately most of my life, because you see, change is something that can be truly lovely. That can make you rediscover, rebuild, reinvent yourself, and when you think the change is over, it knocks the wind out of you again. That’s the beauty in it, it’s not something that ever stops. You see, change can be anything, it can be trying to keep your head above the water, it can be the lingering silence in a room, it can be the ache to break free, it can be your mistakes, it can be the crushing weight of the world. Change can be cruel, but change is how we grow. When I think about how I’ve changed a lot of things come to mind, good and bad, but what’s important is that I’d never take back any of it, and that’s what I’m grateful for.
And besides the colossal things and profound emotions, what I am most grateful for, are the tiny things. The things that seem miniscule and insignificant, I am grateful for smiling, sometimes for no reason at all. I am grateful for falling asleep on the couch, for being able to watch the stars in the sky, for smelling flowers, for laughing until I snort, for eating froyo out of the fridge at 3am, for sprinting in the rain, for my 9th grade English teacher, for patient listeners, for loyal roommates, for friends who helped me become who I am today. For the unexpected. For the frisky. For the sincere. Anything and anyone who has in some way impacted my soul, invited it out, and enabled it to exist as it is.
I am grateful for my occasional homesickness. Even though it’s a very rare occurance, the few times I miss my hometown, I don’t miss it on the surface, I miss it deeply. I miss it in a way where I can remember how the wind felt when it hit my face the last time I drove around Dal Lake in circles. I can remember the warmth of the hot pack my mom used to slip into my bed without fail on cold January nights. I can remember waking up to the smell of Harrisa and Noon Chai in the morning. I remember the lazy summers of cycling around my neighborhood with my friend because we had nothing better to do. I remember playing basketball after school until it was dark and getting an earful for coming home late. I remember bickering with my brother about who's gonna eat the last Shawarma roll even though I wasn’t hungry. Of course it’s melancholic that I miss it, but I’m grateful for this nostalgia because it is the kind that puts a smile on my face. The kind that brings me comfort when I’m suffering. Knowing that home doesn't necessarily equate comfort for everyone in this world, I’m grateful that I’m in the lot for whom it does.
I am grateful for change. It’s something that I desired desperately most of my life, because you see, change is something that can be truly lovely. That can make you rediscover, rebuild, reinvent yourself, and when you think the change is over, it knocks the wind out of you again. That’s the beauty in it, it’s not something that ever stops. You see, change can be anything, it can be trying to keep your head above the water, it can be the lingering silence in a room, it can be the ache to break free, it can be your mistakes, it can be the crushing weight of the world. Change can be cruel, but change is how we grow. When I think about how I’ve changed a lot of things come to mind, good and bad, but what’s important is that I’d never take back any of it, and that’s what I’m grateful for.
And besides the colossal things and profound emotions, what I am most grateful for, are the tiny things. The things that seem miniscule and insignificant, I am grateful for smiling, sometimes for no reason at all. I am grateful for falling asleep on the couch, for being able to watch the stars in the sky, for smelling flowers, for laughing until I snort, for eating froyo out of the fridge at 3am, for sprinting in the rain, for my 9th grade English teacher, for patient listeners, for loyal roommates, for friends who helped me become who I am today. For the unexpected. For the frisky. For the sincere. Anything and anyone who has in some way impacted my soul, invited it out, and enabled it to exist as it is.
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