Thanksgiving - 6 Things That I Am Thankful For In 2017

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This is my second year that I am unable to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US and it actually made me quite sad. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite Holidays, and therefore I reminisced about the good old times back in the US. But instead of being sad all day long, I decided to do a recap about my year and see what I am actually thankful for.

Here are my Top 6 that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

1. Thankful for my travels in 2017

I am so thankful for all the traveling I was able to do in 2017! Due the money I saved while working next to my studies, I had the possibility to visit so many beautiful places in 2017 and I actually cannot believe that I have been seeing so much in the past year.

I visited 8 countries in 2017 and went to 23 beautiful cities and places!

I am so thankful for all the opportunities 2017 gave me and that I was able to explore so many diverse places. I am so excited to see what 2018 brings me! Since I will be moving to Asia in the end of January, I am sure the amount of countries I will be visiting will increase. I am so grateful for it.

2. Moving to Spain

Moving to Spain gave me mixed feelings all along, but in the end, I am thankful for the opportunity I got to live and work here for 6 months. Not only did it fulfill my goal to live in a big city for quite some time, it also made me meet so many beautiful souls from all over the world. I found amazing friends here, with whom I could have crazy party nights but also just nights watching Girly movies and put on face masks. I got to know a different side of Barcelona. Every time I was a little bit too annoyed by this city, I discovered new beautiful places to explore. And every weekend, I have my girls by my side to go on spontaneous adventures. I will miss them so much!!

3. My Boyfriend

You guys have no idea how thankful I am to have my boyfriend. It has never been easy for us to be together, with everything thrown at us, but we made/make it through it all!

Not only does he support me and my choices but his honesty is something I cherish the most. I am thankful for him to still stick with me, in all the distance we experience. Our hardest and longest distance is still ahead of us, even though I am excited to move to Asia and experience Indonesia and Thailand, I am also excited to return and start a whole new chapter with him.

4. My Family

My family calls me an old Gipsy soul. My mom strongly believes because of her being pregnant with me while they started their travels from Kyrgysztan to Germany, turned me into the only traveler in our family. My family does not like me to be all around the world, it is actually quite the opposite. When I told them about my decision to leave Germany and live in the States, there have been many fights. Once they understood that this is just me and that traveling is something I am passionate about, we have been closer than ever!

So what am I thankful for? I am thankful for always supporting me. Even though my mom is always worried about me and my family always wonders what I am about to do with my life and what my next destination is, they support me. And of course they would love to have me settled down. But I am far away from doing that. :)

5. My Health

I am thankful for myself. I am thankful, that the past few years, I have made it my mission to be healthy and strong. I finally take care of my body and I treat it how I should treat it for all these years. I am thankful for myself to keep pushing harder, to take new steps and to try new ways of living. And even when they are days that I don't follow my own plan, or I do not feel like working out - I am still going strong the next days. It is all about balance! And I think I finally understood that.

6. My career choice

You have no idea how thankful I am for my career choice! The decision to study in the Netherlands changed SO much! Not only did I meet my boyfriend the first day of college, but I also realized that it is exactly what I want to do in life.

The mandatory internship here in Barcelona makes me even more excited getting finished with my studies and get to work for real! Also, who knew that this career choice would make me travel so much! I went to several business related trips this year and had the opportunity to explore and learn so much.

So I am thankful for finally finding a career, that I would love to pursue in the future.

These are my top 6 that I am thankful for today.

What are you thankful for? Count your blessings people and have a good and safe Holiday with your family!

Love,
Karoline