I'm Thankful for Auguste :)

Every year at my family's Thanksgiving dinner, we go around the table and say what we are thankful for. I've always said the routine things: my family, my friends, my house, etc. When I got this assignment it surprised me because I've never really thought about the individual people I'm thankful for, and because of that I don't think I've really said thanks for everything important to me before.

One of the wonderful friends I am blessed with at Whitney Young is Auguste. We sit next to each other in English class, our birthdays are only a day apart, and we've known each other since sixth grade so I think it's safe to say that I owe a lot of smiles and good moments to her.

One of my favorite things about Auguste is that she's always smiling and laughing. No matter how I feel I know I can always smile, giggle, and make another inside joke when I'm with Auguste. Also, she is very friendly and talkative, which I am thankful for because it means that she can always have a long and funny conversation, even with shy and not-so-talkative people like me. I am very thankful for this because little moments like those can make even your worst day a lot better.

Another awesome thing about Auguste is that she is very creative. She makes beautiful drawings like this one, and even the doodles in the sides of her notebook are always beautiful. Auguste always draws very creative and "luscious" (as she would say) and I am very thankful to know creative and talented people like her. 

Auguste also has a very creative vocabulary and likes to use words like "luscious" and "totes" (or more accurately t0t3s) and I like this because it is very funny and creative and shows that she's not afraid to have fun with her words in a way that's different from everyone else. 

Also on a side note Auguste is one of my favorite people of mine to read my writing because she's also a good writer (we've written a few hilarious stories together lol) and she always makes me feel so happy inside while also giving me good constructive criticism and I'm very thankful for this because I love writing and it makes it all the better when you have great people to share it with. 

All in all, I am very thankful for Auguste and the many moments of laughter and positivity that she has brightened up my life with. Also, she has been a great friend ever since I've known her and our friendship has gone through a lot of changes but it means a lot to me that we are still friends today. I am thankful for her and for this assignment because it made me think about the importance of individuals and small things, and it made me really appreciate all the great people like Auguste that I am so lucky to be around every day. 

I Celebrate Myself

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

I open my mind that you may see with my searching eyes,

Immerse yourself in my being, think only as one with me.

I dip my feet in the weeping river, lapping at my feet;

Oh, laughing, dancing water from whence have you come?

That you may share the very essence of my being,

That the stuff of my frolicking laugh flows in your ripples,

And my smiles in the sunlight that glints off your brooks and streams.

Run, swift feet, to the end of the stream, show me the rock from whence it came,

The core of all souls that births emotion,

From the smiling, laughing waterfall, to the blackened weeping pond.

Oh, core-strengthened rock of fiercely protective love and steadfast standing belief,

Lend me a rough ledge on which to place my feet,

So that I may commence the journey of human success.

Give me a ledge of courage, and strength to push myself up,

But do not deny me the cuts and scrapes, the everyday problems of unsolvable fate,

For their scars will form and give me strength,

The iron core of human soul.

Cling, my travel-worn feet, to the rough bark of that everlasting tree,

The green pine which sprouts life through its extending branches,

Glimmers of soul in every passionate needle,

Waiting to pierce even the stoniest heart.

Bear me, oh life-giving branches,

Become one with the fiber of shared being,

The emotion of mutual nature,

In the purest state of life.

Lead me, oh thoughtful compass, to the north star of my righteous deeds,

To the dark cave of my innermost soul.

I shall not lose myself in its soft moss fabric of darkness,

For I am guided by the torch lit force of my blazing curiosity.

I reach my hands into the red heart of that wild inferno,

And my fingers do not feel pain.

For, though, truth may yet burn,

The rushing waters, tsunamis of newfound being shall fuse with the flame,

As all becomes one on the eternal scale.