Things I'm Thankful For (2022)

Technically I'm several weeks late, but really there's never a bad time to spend some time focusing on gratitude. Here's a few things that I'm feeling thankful for, in no particular order.

1. New friends
   Let's just say that moving across the country at the height of COVID was not conducive to building a new social network. In the last year or so I've finally made a couple of good friends. Hopefully there will be many more to come.
2. New family
   I have some distant relatives who live in Manhattan. They lived out of the country for most of my life, and then I lived out of the country, so I hadn't met them until I moved to the area. They're really wonderful people, and it's so nice to be able to stay at their place overnight rather than spending two hours on the train each way just to get half a day in the city.
3. My advisor
   There's no single person who makes a bigger difference to someone's PhD experience than their advisor, and I found myself a great one.
4. Repaved roads
   The roads where I live are in apalling condition. I was foolish enough to buy a commuter bike when you basically need a mountain bike to ride on them. But all of a sudden they decided to repave the road I use to get to work, and it's sooo pleasant now. Now if they would just redo the road to the grocery store...
5. Free gym
   My campus gym has its downsides, but it's convenient, and I can get the membership fee reimbursed each year.
6. Improving health
   I developed some health problems a few years ago that made life way harder than it should be. But things have been slowly getting better, and in the last few months I've been feeling close to normal again.
7. Research progress
   Most PhD students in the U.S. work as teaching or research assistants to fund their education. I like teaching, but it's a gigantic time sink, especially when you're still taking classes yourself. Fortunately, I've had a position as a research assistant for the last two years. It's the only reason I get anything done.
8. Acceptance
   I only came out as gay a couple years ago. Fortunately, it's been about as uneventful as one could hope for. It's a huge weight off my shoulders.
9. Discount baked goods
   There's almost always something good in my grocery store in the back corner where they put the slightly old bread, cake, pie, and cookies.
10. Hot showers
    There are all sorts of ordinary things that make me really happy, but this is the first that came to mind, so it's the one to round out the list.