What are you grateful for?
Public Thnx4 Journal
Seth
- November 17, 2023
Besides my neighborhood, I feel grateful to live in my community of Sarasota, Florida [a smaller city south of Tampa but north of Fort Myers] comfortably from a financial perspective. That is because Sarasota is (1) pleasantly warm even in November and (2) by the water. I'm particularly grateful because a lot of people either come down here as the vacation they have been saving for from the north or are unable to live here full-time even if they wanted to. I am lucky in that my paternal aunt and parents bought our house here decades ago, we would not be able to afford a similar property here if we had to buy today. What is really cool, in retrospect, is that you can definitely see the license plates of different US states [and I swear I've even seen an Ontario, Canada license plate] during the right season and in the right places around town. The Florida Gulf Coast in general have some great towns with nature that is never too far away: a string of pearls. Sarasota is a midpoint of sorts. I usually am more familiar with going up north to Tampa and St. Petersburg more frequently, North Port and Venice to the south are very much different, [as are the more southern parts of Florida, even further south than Venice.] There is a vibrancy and beauty to where I live this gratitude journal has helped me appreciate, to truly experience Florida is to spend hours driving through it. I have never been to Miami or Key West even though I live in the same state, and have only been to Daytona Beach or Saint Augustine [on the East Coast of Florida] only once, respectively. Northern Florida is different too, a deceptively long journey to reach the border with Georgia.
The geography of where I live does benefit me. As a person with disabilities, specifically, perhaps as Florida was developed later in American history (a fascinating history in itself), many of the buildings are newer and more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I informally compare this to New England, where are my family was originally from, where many of the attraction’s our historical and not guaranteed to comply with the ADA. As Florida initially was popular state for northern retirees, I know there is an entire industrial ecosystem of healthcare and mobility products for people with disabilities. As for the climate, I do not have to navigate my wheelchair through snow, and compared to my other experiences traveling in northwestern North Carolina, Florida is relatively traversable with only a few isolated exceptions. Even some watercraft (pontoon boats, in a makeshift fashion) and public docks can accommodate a manual wheelchair to go on the water.
Isabella
- November 16, 2023
Today in my literature class, we had a really great discussion about the novel we just read. Everyone had so many interesting insights and perspectives, it was a truly enriching conversation.
This benefited me because it reminded me that I am super grateful to be able to continue my education in the field I love surrounded by other extremely passionate and inspiring people.
Claudine
- November 16, 2023
I took a Mindfulness workshop over the course of 3 days.
It sparked my interest in meditation again and forced me to see the lack of self-care I currently have.
Seth
- November 16, 2023
As something connected to yesterday's entry, I am grateful for the opportunities that I had to travel to different places throughout my life. I've gone to places like Orlando, Daytona Beach, St. Louis, New Orleans, Rhode Island and New York City, West Jefferson in North Carolina, and Japan. My trip to Japan specifically in the Summer of 2017 as part of a tour group is something that I think that I will remember the rest of my life, in that I am grateful for the people that made it happen and the opportunity to visit Tokyo, Kyoto and Hikone specifically. In the context of yesterday’s entry, I am grateful for my tour director and her husband, as both of them help to make my trip possible in terms of my accessibility concerns. (So, I am grateful for both the opportunity to travel and for the people who I have traveled with, both the something and someone.)
Travel does benefit me, I think. I developed a love for geography when I was younger, and still love learning about the history and cultures of the places I visit. Japan specifically was the trip of a lifetime for me, I had always wanted to go as a childhood dream of mine, and when I met my tour director by chance about a year before in 2016, her upcoming trip to Japan came up when I met her. I am very glad that my parents and I actually believed her when she said that she would take care of even the wheelchair accessible tour bus and that her husband would help my mother with transfers. (I know almost for certain that she under no obligation by the tour to provide such accommodations, a kindness and generosity that went above and beyond.) Though my tour director told me that some of the countries that she had previously visited not very accessible, I do believe that such a conversation of accessibility on a global scale is still a conversation worth having. Not just in developed nations such as the United States and Japan, though in the context on Japan I am grateful for the hospitality of the people I met there. I say this very much cognizant in retrospect of Japan's desire to emulate the West (beginning in the Meiji era) and the controversy of disability rights in the very Western countries it has emulated.
evelin
- November 16, 2023
Completei o estágio de PDI nas escolas e foi um último dia muito agradável com as crianças.
Me deixou feliz brincar e terminar essa fase da faculdade.
Ginger
- November 15, 2023
A patient thanked me for what i do as a nurse.
Grateful, respectful
evelin
- November 15, 2023
Minha amiga me convidou para ir assistir um filme que eu queria muito ver e teria que ir sozinha, e me chamou mesmo nós não sendo próximas.
Me senti querida.
evelin
- November 15, 2023
Consegui uma boia para brincar na piscina da Famerp.
Diversão.
Carolyn
- November 15, 2023
My friend checked in with me about my first Nar-Anon mtg.
I felt remembered. I know my friend doesn’t understand the situation but she cares about me.
Seth
- November 15, 2023
After writing my entry for yesterday, I decided to look further into accessibility in the airline industry. After my research, I realized that I am not just grateful for the general notion of new accessibility changes, but the individuals and organizations behind said changes. Delta Flight Products and UK organization Air4All, for example, have already made prototypes for seats that allow people in power wheelchairs to stay in their chairs while on flights. All Wheels Up, a US accessibility organization, too, have continued to pressure the US Congress and US Department of Transportation [DOT], and likewise the DOT has announced distinctly partial accessibility reforms surrounding the lavatories of certain classes of commercial planes that were not required to be accessible before. I am grateful for these efforts, especially as I learned more about them yesterday. I am grateful that I have never had my wheelchair so severely damaged before by airlines, though that does not mean it does not happen. The conversation to balance the safety of passengers and the need for accessibility is very much ongoing: both DOT and the airlines themselves have used safety regulations as a barrier to implementing accessible solutions as mandatory for decades. There are very much powerful interests at work here, both DOT and the airlines themselves, that built this inaccessible system. This fever is finally seeming to break.
These efforts benefit me as a person with disabilities. Though I do not know the next time I will fly, it appears that the Department of Transportation’s regulations will apply to all the major US airlines over several years’ time. As the US, according to my research yesterday, has historically been a leader in aviation globally, I benefit from these efforts if I ever travel globally. Importantly, this benefits me in that I believe it sends a message (of defiance, hope, whatever emotion you would prescribe to this moment) that society will no longer accept unreasonable excuses for ableism in industry, which airlines have previously been one of the most particularly egregious in that airlines are not covered by the ADA. Instead, the Air Carriers Act of 1986 and politics within the Department of Transportation have allowed the industry to create a separate system of standards that is clearly no longer adequate or just to passengers with disabilities. In the context of my November 9th entry, a subset of people with disabilities are interested in documenting their traveling experiences from the lens of accessibility.
Marquita
- November 15, 2023
Just thankful for everyone present in my life.
It makes me feel better just knowing they are here

Dr. Nicole
- November 14, 2023
I believe in grace and Guardian Angels and today I experienced both in a fantastically practical way!
Despite thinking it was the wrong day ALL DAY today, this included not noticing the correct date in my digital calendar, I was nudged to check "yesterday". Once I saw that yesterday was today I was able to get to a much needed wellness appointment...ON TIME no less!
Seth
- November 14, 2023
Since I am a person with disabilities, and I've been thinking about my disability a lot lately before and since my first entry on November 9, I am grateful for the wheelchairs I have. I received my first power wheelchair when I was three at the recommendation of medical professionals. Though my parents were concerned then I would get hurt in my first power wheelchair, the amount of freedom this accessibility invention has given me is truly life-changing. Mobility, in my case, is vital to my freedom of movement. I am also grateful for my current wheelchair: as I've gotten older I have had to understand that really nice electric wheelchairs cost thousands of dollars, and not everyone is as lucky as I am to have insurance options that cover this cost. From my perspective, casually at least, there is an economic question here, especially concerning disability needs and health insurance. My family and I have always tried pass on the gift of mobility to others, we always donate the previous wheelchair I do not use anymore after I upgrade to Shriners Hospital for Children.
My wheelchairs are beneficial in many ways, the most essential way to distill their impact used to say did they have given me the freedom of movement. Wheelchairs allow me to go places that I could not possibly go without them. This can be as simple as around my own house or the walks that I have mentioned earlier on November 10. Moreover, I know that one can usually also request special manual beach wheelchairs for beaches, and there are full outdoor power chairs designed for off-road hiking as some of the latest iterations on the true extent of this technology. The airlines, which I've mentioned earlier on November 9, also have narrow manual wheelchairs designed for the aisles of a plane, which is how planes are currently accessible barring pushes for new accessibility rules for the aviation industry. I am grateful for all the accessibility options available currently in my country and around the world, allowing me the freedom of movement enjoyed by all other people.
Ginger
- November 13, 2023
Recognized my efforts to take care of him.
Good
evelin
- November 13, 2023
Consegui fazer a prova de PPI.
Posso ficar tranquila quanto a passar de ano.
evelin
- November 13, 2023
minha mãe veio me fazer companhia.
Me deixa mais calma com os trabalhos e provas de fim de ano.
Seth
- November 13, 2023
Although I am not a professional creative writer, I am grateful for and admire those who are professional creative writers. Many of my fellow graduate students in my classes, too, are student creative writers. I see the value, and I'm grateful for, the people who craft stories that speak to human experiences — necessary and fulfilling work, especially after the Writer’s Guild of America [WGA] that ended just several weeks ago. Though to my knowledge WGA primarily covers screenwriters (for movies and television), at least anecdotally I know that there are hard-working authors and editors out there who believe in stories that are valuable and must be told, especially considering the state of society today.
These people actions have benefited me in two ways: (1) by crafting my favorite stories regardless of medium, and (2) because I am a writer in a different field, the strikes itself perhaps raised awareness for the importance of writing, at least indirectly. As someone who wanted to be a professional creative writer for a long time until I found my current career path, it was beneficial to me to place myself in the striker’s shoes as a thought exercise: I was grateful and sympathetic to the plights of the strikers. (Which speak to the creative writing industrial complexes at large.)
Seth
- November 12, 2023
Yesterday, on one of my walks (see November 10 entry) one of my neighbors said hello to me as I was walking by. I forget if I waived to low first or if she said hello to me first, honestly. I explained to her why I take walks, and how good the weather was this weekend. Still, in an individualistic culture of “minding one's own business,” I was grateful for that friendly interaction as something that seems rare in modern times. (I try to say hello to strangers from time to time, too.)
I don't really know if there was a benefit to me talking to my neighbor, other than maybe the awkwardness of me saying or waving hello with no response. I forget if she was busy with something else when I stopped to talk, but I do appreciate such openness even if she had other thing is to do or on her mind.
Seth
- November 11, 2023
I am grateful for my mother and father. They have been both my parents and my caretakers for all of my life, even after I have turned 18 (the nature of my disability makes me reliant on other people to help me complete everyday tasks.) Recalling my life in terms of not just memories for me but the expenses needed for my care, I am currently fortunate to have them, a fact that I do tend to overlook due to the fact that I have always been cared for by them all my life. I think that such a feeling of existentialism that I receive as I wrote the previous sentence is healthy, to express my gratitude in a different area of my life that I have not discussed here.
My mother and father's actions have benefited me and truly countless ways. If I have to find a specific example, at times when I've had to figure out what was next in my life deluded myself into thinking I was alone and helpless in making such consequential decisions (for my undergraduate education, and even whether or not to go to the graduate school I am in now) they have always been there for support. In terms of my educational decisions, although the curiosity of what could have been is still there, as I reflected on that decision over time, I realize that I am happy where I am now as opposed to the other options for college I had available.
As a brief aside, since I depend on other people for personal care, or have otherwise been cared for, I would say that the concept of gratitude as a method for happiness might also have to do with decision-making, as I depend on other people I believe I would wager that I have a more difficult time making important decisions without consulting my caretakers first. I am not a therapist or psychologist, but this is just something that I'm thinking about. Especially for those who risk losing their own sense of independence: what decisions can you make to practice autonomy? What truly makes you— and only you — the happiest?
As a brief aside, since I depend on other people for personal care, or have otherwise been cared for, I would say that the concept of gratitude as a method for happiness might also have to do with decision-making, as I depend on other people I believe I would wager that I have a more difficult time making important decisions without consulting my caretakers first. I am not a therapist or psychologist, but this is just something that I'm thinking about. Especially for those who risk losing their own sense of independence: what decisions can you make to practice autonomy? What truly makes you— and only you — the happiest?
evelin
- November 11, 2023
Me senti agradecida por ter amigos para sair comigo no sábado.
Me fazem mais acolhida em um grupo e me traz sentimento de pertencimento.
evelin
- November 11, 2023
Fiquei feliz de poder dormir com ar-condicionado ligado no calor.
Não passei calor e pude dormir bem.
Joshua
- November 11, 2023
I got to hang out in a witchy store for a day with Savanna while she worked
I got to work on my math and listen to some interesting conversations.
Ginger
- November 11, 2023
Able to attend our research symposium, in person. Received some great information.
Able to be more aware and mindful.

denise
- November 10, 2023
I had a day off, Vet Day holiday. Went to SLOMA to see Leslie's exhibit and that other great "immersion" light one that Emma had a Cuesta. Red and white, lacey light. Amazing.
Being with art, in person, lifted my spirits!
evelin
- November 10, 2023
Minha amiga me ajudou a fazer esse trabalho e mexer no site.