my fortune cookie on facebook told me today that i offer help and and advice freely.

first off, that's NOT a fortune. a fortune is a prediction. something that is going to happen. if i had opened it and it said, "tonight you are going to shannon's," i would have been astonished! because that's true! sadly, it would also be something that i already knew, but still...it's more of a fortune that telling me that i like to give advice.

but let me tell ya. i do! i DO like giving advice. sometimes, and this is something that i really struggle not to do, i offer it when nobody has asked for it.

so i'm sorry. if i've ever done that to you, please accept my apology. most of the time i really try to just listen and wait for someone to ask for my help. sometimes i just can't help it and i'm compelled to put my two cents in.

with regards to the university, i've been utilising the thank you notes more than ever this fall.

as i and my siblings (each of us have been presented with 3 different sets of challenges) attempt to make our way through the next 6 months, i'm finding it more and more necessary to simply just say thank you for everything.

not the challenges. i could do without those. and i'm sure we've all had enough "character building" experiences to last a lifetime.

but i am grateful for my family. it's small. we're not as close as i'd like. but they're there for me if i need them.

i am so grateful for my friends. a few in particular who know about my challenges and don't judge me. who i can tell my "crazy" thoughts to and they don't run away thinkin' i'm nuts.

i'm not nuts.

i'm just challenged. :)

these random thoughts have brought about this 'thank-you' note:

dear university,

today i am so grateful for the people that have been strategically placed in my life. my mom, my brother and sister, and my friends who know what a crazypants i can be and still hang out with me. thank you for their understanding and guidance. and i promise not to offer any of them advice unless they ask for it.

love,
kami