Things to be thankful for / happy about:

1. You’re not homeless.
2. You’re not going hungry. Not any time soon, at least.
3. You have money to spend on little luxuries. These include things like impulsive retail therapy buys, frozen yogurt, almond milk, toys for the dog, baked goods, supplies for baking, cooking, jewelry-making and all of your other expensive hobbies… 
4. You have a job. It does not pay immensely well, but it pays comfortably enough for your limited expenses.
5. You have really low rent.
6. You are living in, really, quite a beautiful condominium. 
7. You are not living alone. 
8. You do not have to find somebody to eat dinner with you each night to avoid being lame. 
9. You do not have to be scared at night for various reasons, including (i) the homeless man that lurks in the bushes when you take the dog out at night, (ii) increasing reports of violence on the local news, or (iii) an overly hyperactive imagination.
10. You do not have to deal with a roommate.
11. In fact, both sets of parents have consented (somewhat grudgingly) and allowed you to live with your boyfriend.
12. And you also have an adorable dog who does love you with every ounce of his tiny happy heart.
13. You finally fulfilled your dream of getting a dog on your own after being deprived of animal companionship for 8 long miserable years.
14. You don’t have to interact with people you don’t like from college anymore. 
15. You don’t have to interact with people you don’t like from high school either.
16. You live in a really nice spot in the city — good walking distance to all your favorite places.
17. …

Unfortunately, I still feel as if I’m in the same place I was a year ago. I’m still unsure of myself. I don’t understand what happened to the immensely confident little girl that graduated from high school in 2006. What happened?  

Why do I want so much out of life? Wanting this much just makes me frustratingly unhappy. I see plenty of other people who are quite happy just the way things are — but they will never go anywhere in life; they will never make a difference in the world because they don’t care.