Falcon Photo

 I am thankful for my sister. She is 4 years old and in preschool. She always wants to play with me and always hugs me when she gets home. I appreciate that she gives me love and just makes me feel loved.
She always wants me to teach her how to write different words and is always eager for me to do so. I am thankful to have her as my sister. 

I am thankful for my other sister. She is 6 years old and in first grade. She always draws pictures for me and always wants to hug me and say bye when I leave to go to the bus stop in the morning. I love how she is always happy when I come to her school. I am thankful to have her as my sister. 

I am thankful for my mom. She is my favorite person in the world. I love her because she is very strong, a wonderful mother, a loving friend and overall just an amazing human being. She buys me food and clothes, and takes care of me. I am thankful that I have her as my mom.

I am thankful for the Let’s Learn students. Let’s Learn is the after school program I work at on Wednesdays. Whenever I am not there, the kids always ask about me and when I come, they are always excited to play with me. I really appreciate that the kids acknowledge me and always pose for the pictures I take. I’m happy I have these adorable kids in my life.

I am thankful for the world. I took a picture of the sky to symbolize life in general. Everyone is alive thanks to life and nothing would be possible without it. I am grateful that I exist and have family and friends that I love. 

I am thankful for music. I took a picture of my earbuds because that is what I use to listen to music. I love music, I personally believe that it is one of the best things in the world and I can’t go one day without listening to music. I am very very thankful to have music in my life. 

I am thankful for my aunt. She has been present all my life and helped my mom raise me before my mom married my stepdad. I love my aunt, she is caring, loving, funny, and always takes me places that I actually like. She is like a second mother. I am very grateful to have her in my life. 

               It’s the season of thanks, and what better to celebrate than taking pictures of things I’m thankful for? I am very thankful for almost everything life gave to me, and since I’m not in my high school days yet, I have time to be as happy and carefree as I can be. If I didn’t have all these things, I’m not sure how I’ll be like and what will become of me! Here are 7 photos I took in 7 days that demonstrate what I am thankful for:

A roof over my head:                                                                                                                                                     This house has greeted me since birth, literally! My parents have told me stories about how I was born a couple days after they bought the home. I have many memories there, like the time my sister and I would goof around and break stuff, and the time I spent with friends and family relaxing and watching movies. You know what they say, “There’s no place like home”.

The beauty of mother nature:                                                                                                                                        These beautiful flowers were taken in the Rio Washingtonian Center. To me, plants symbolize life and a new beginning. It’s amazing how mother nature could create not just bright flowers, but many MANY other things as well. I thank mother nature for bringing life to our Earth, despite everything humans do to hurt her.

My instrument of musical ivories:                                                                                                                                 My piano patiently waits in the living room for me to come back and play whatever my heart desires. I can play whatever kind of atmosphere or emotion I want to express! If I feel depressed, I could slowly move my fingers across the lower keys and play in minor (quiet). If I have adrenaline coursing through my veins, waiting to be let go on something, I could hop around key to key, quick paced and in major (loud). I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old, and admittedly I sometimes don’t play out of laziness, but I always come back to my beloved, loyal instrument.

Food on the table:                                                                                                                                                             Who doesn’t like food? No one! That’s why I made a spot to thank the thing that makes me happy, morning, noon, and evening: food. I also consider myself fortunate to have access to food 24/7 because of the lucky and wonderful status I’m in. Even though I may not be rich, I’m happy with what I have and couldn’t have anything better. I do consider people who aren’t as lucky and have little access to food and water. However, their strong and persistent spirits and (for some) seeing nothing is wrong, amazes me (I still donate to charity, don’t worry). Food is a major happiness booster and without it, I wouldn’t be alive, literally and figuratively.

My gorgeous and beautiful sister:                                                                                                                                 My beautiful, older sister (upper left corner in the photo) is one of the things I’m most thankful about. She’s always there for me whenever I need her and passes her experience in life to me, just like a mentor. She cares about my welfare and is willing to protect me from anything. In addition, she always finds a way to make me holler and laugh until my body aches and I happily return the favor by doing the same. We’re like two peas in a pod, not being able to separate form each other for too long. Although she does tease me sometimes and somehow finds a way to get on my nerves, that’s what siblings do. I wouldn’t ever ask for a better sibling in my life.

Modern technology:                                                                                                                                                         This may seem obvious in resemblance to me living in a time like this and ”depending my life on it” to some people, it goes way deeper than that. We all live in a time where technological advancement is at its highest point. We’re using technology to aid us in our daily lives, from getting work done to studying space and the universe beyond. We also use technology to , in a few ways, to protect the environment. Most paper and other things actually don’t end up getting recycled, thus working on assignments on computers produces no paper or waste. Technology also helps us study and receive new information about everything, and therefore advancing us even further into the distant future.  

My amazing and superb parents:                                                                                                                                   And last, but certainly not least, my golden-hearted mother and my jolly, goofy father. Where do I even start? They brought me into this world and gave me everything they could offer: education, extracurricular activities, everything mentioned above (except for mother nature), ice cream (yum), and so SO much more. They taught me many things to help me survive in the world we live in and care about me so much. But the most important thing that they, my other family members, friends, and others gave me isn’t my piano, or my computer. It wasn’t delicious junk food, the chance to travel, or even a home. It was something that made me never ask for more.  It was love.                     

                                                                                                                                                 -Marie Valouiski