Yesterday though, after a particularly enlightening meeting with my advisor, I decided to walk home. I wanted to enjoy the unseasonably warm evening. And it was along that stroll, passing the holiday markets on the Champs-Elysees, that I was overcome with gratitude. How thankful I am to have legs to carry me through a city with as much ease as they lead me up a volcano. How thankful I am to have the privilege to study what I am passionate about, and to do so in a (more-often-than-not) enchanting place such as Paris. How thankful I am to be a part of a global community that never ceases to provide opportunities for human connection and, better yet, friendship. How thankful I am for the health that makes living this entire experience possible.
And in many ways, how thankful I am to be missing as many people as I do. What love that must mean I have in my life. I have a feeling this morning's arrival of my mom and sister into Paris confirms it. Hope your Thanksgiving--celebrated or not--is just as happy and gratifying. I'm off to have my best weekend yet :).
