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Here's some of the (many) good things about my life.
There's a good reason and a bad reason for this. The good reason being that I'm just happy and I want to say it; the bad reason being that I could use the reminder right now and I need to say it.
(The reason I'm doing this on LJ is in case anyone might be inspired to do the same.)
- I have a whole and healthy body. I can care for myself, walk without trouble, see the world around me, and communicate freely. And a host of other things that come with an abled body.
- I live in a home. I'm not afraid of losing it, or of not having food or utilities within it.
- I live in a prosperous city where the local and national government provide systems of maintaining order and providing resources, and which is a site of thriving culture.
- I attend a public school that is (more or less) well-funded, and am allowed to participate in an intellectual community on a daily basis.
- I have a job that, if not especially lucrative, provides me with the money that I need. It is in a safe part of town and it utilizes my skills instead of keeping me bored.
- I don't have to worry about money. Though I am one of those people who labored under the illusion that I was middle class (I can virtually guarantee that everyone I know is above middle class, though most of us don't recognize it), I know that I am provided with much beyond basic necessities. I also know that, if I have monetary difficulties, I have people who will help me out so I'm never truly on my own.
- I have parents who provided everything they could think of when I was growing up. I also think they ended up sheltering me too much as a result; but at least now they are letting me grow on my own.
- I have a sister who combines the best aspects of 'parent' and 'friend.'
- I am in love with someone who is my best friend and partner - and who knows what that means.
- I have friends who challenge and inspire me; in whom I can confide and who support me; and, equally important, who have fun with me.
- I have privilege. Privilege is unearned and unequally distributed, and I hate that fact; yet it would be arrogant and dismissive of other people's hardships if I said that I hated the privilege. I can't pretend that I haven't benefited from being wealthy, heterosexual, able-bodied, and a U.S. citizen. But I also have the responsibility to educate myself about it.
- On the flip side, I have first-hand knowledge of oppression. But that knowledge is also vital. Knowing what abuses I face, and how they work, is extremely important - as evidenced by the internalized oppression or horizontal hostility that is exhibited by those out of frustrated impotence, and an inability to target the true enemy. Knowledge means that I know ways to fight my oppressions.
- I also can't discount the pleasure and importance of my hobbies. They add to my happiness, which is no small matter. I can get excited by a really good book, and actually have my mood lifted. As I recently rediscovered, I can get absorbed in drawing for hours. And, of course, there is my writing, that fickle mistress that brings me joy and frustration and sometimes nothing at all.
- I am grateful for communication, for growing and maturing, for forgiveness, and for the ability to shoulder another's burden and lighten the load. I am grateful for trials and the ability to learn from them.
There's a good reason and a bad reason for this. The good reason being that I'm just happy and I want to say it; the bad reason being that I could use the reminder right now and I need to say it.
(The reason I'm doing this on LJ is in case anyone might be inspired to do the same.)
- I have a whole and healthy body. I can care for myself, walk without trouble, see the world around me, and communicate freely. And a host of other things that come with an abled body.
- I live in a home. I'm not afraid of losing it, or of not having food or utilities within it.
- I live in a prosperous city where the local and national government provide systems of maintaining order and providing resources, and which is a site of thriving culture.
- I attend a public school that is (more or less) well-funded, and am allowed to participate in an intellectual community on a daily basis.
- I have a job that, if not especially lucrative, provides me with the money that I need. It is in a safe part of town and it utilizes my skills instead of keeping me bored.
- I don't have to worry about money. Though I am one of those people who labored under the illusion that I was middle class (I can virtually guarantee that everyone I know is above middle class, though most of us don't recognize it), I know that I am provided with much beyond basic necessities. I also know that, if I have monetary difficulties, I have people who will help me out so I'm never truly on my own.
- I have parents who provided everything they could think of when I was growing up. I also think they ended up sheltering me too much as a result; but at least now they are letting me grow on my own.
- I have a sister who combines the best aspects of 'parent' and 'friend.'
- I am in love with someone who is my best friend and partner - and who knows what that means.
- I have friends who challenge and inspire me; in whom I can confide and who support me; and, equally important, who have fun with me.
- I have privilege. Privilege is unearned and unequally distributed, and I hate that fact; yet it would be arrogant and dismissive of other people's hardships if I said that I hated the privilege. I can't pretend that I haven't benefited from being wealthy, heterosexual, able-bodied, and a U.S. citizen. But I also have the responsibility to educate myself about it.
- On the flip side, I have first-hand knowledge of oppression. But that knowledge is also vital. Knowing what abuses I face, and how they work, is extremely important - as evidenced by the internalized oppression or horizontal hostility that is exhibited by those out of frustrated impotence, and an inability to target the true enemy. Knowledge means that I know ways to fight my oppressions.
- I also can't discount the pleasure and importance of my hobbies. They add to my happiness, which is no small matter. I can get excited by a really good book, and actually have my mood lifted. As I recently rediscovered, I can get absorbed in drawing for hours. And, of course, there is my writing, that fickle mistress that brings me joy and frustration and sometimes nothing at all.
- I am grateful for communication, for growing and maturing, for forgiveness, and for the ability to shoulder another's burden and lighten the load. I am grateful for trials and the ability to learn from them.