What I'm Thankful For

Today, I'm thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given.

I go to one of the best secondary schools in the country,

I will travel to Paris in March for two weeks to live as Parisian,

I have climbed the Great Wall of China, 

I was chosen to be a Counselor In Training for four weeks last summer,

I've been Captain of a team,

I have traveled to China,

I have given a speech to over 300 people, and I'll get the opportunity to do it again next year,

and today, I'm very happy to announce a new opportunity I have been given.

Friday night, I received an email congratulating me on my acceptance to the Winter Mission Training Workshop for Operation Smile.

I still can't believe it, and I am thankful that my prayers have truly been answered on this one.  I have been waiting since last year when I sent in my first application.  I have been denied twice and as they say, third time's the charm. It was hard to put my faith in God and to know that I would go when the time was right, and it was hard to wait and to fail, but I am thankful for the lessons this has taught me.

I have learned a lot about failure, patience and faith in the past two years and those lessons have made me a stronger and better person, and that, I couldn't be more thankful for.

“My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win.” - Ronald Reagan


"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt


Thanks Ronnie & Teddy. I agree.

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}