After Mt Lycabettus, we were going to have Thanksgiving lunch in Glyfada. Glyfada is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Athens. There are tons of bars, restaurants, and shops in Glyfada. Since we knew we weren't going to be able to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, we decided that we were going to have as traditional of an American meal as possible. For me, practices are at night, so we had to have Thanksgiving lunch instead of dinner. We chose TGI Fridays and headed out there on the tram. We both had chicken with mashed potatoes and as a treat, ordered dessert! Apple pie is one of my most favorite desserts and I was so thrilled they had it. While enjoying our desserts, the power went out! All of the lights and electricity in the building went out. So I whipped out my phone and used my handy dandy 'Flashlight' app and we finished our dessert by the candlelight of my phone.
Today on the tram to our Thanksgiving lunch, a homeless man was begging for money. While I couldn't understand a word he was saying, I pretty much gathered that he was homeless and asking for some money or something to eat. A young guy gave the homeless man some food he had just recently bought and by the looks of it, you would have thought that the homeless man had just received a five course meal from the nicest restaurant in town. He was so appreciative and thankful for the small amount of food from a random stranger. While they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, it reminded me of all I have to be thankful for. Yes, I'm living alone in a foreign country and I moved here without knowing a soul, but this has been an eye opening experience for me and has made me realize what a truly fortunate and blessed life I have lived so far. I'd like to share with you guys some of the things I'm thankful for today:
-A loving and supportive family who would travel across the world, literally, to support me and my dreams
-My past and present teammates. My past teammates at DePaul are some of my closest friends and I'll always have them in my life. My current teammates who have made me feel so welcome here. A special shout out to my translator teammates, Jenny and Anna Maria, who are constantly letting me know what the coaches and girls are saying when they speak in Greek. And a special thank you for the teammates here who are trying their hardest to speak English so they can talk to me, even when they don't know much!
- iMessage, FaceTime, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Blogspot and all other social media that has allowed me to keep in touch with friends and loved ones back home!
-My health and the health of my loved ones
-My coaches, past and present. Grade school, high school, college, and now beyond. Each one has taught me not only about basketball and every other sport, but also about life
-My friends back home. I know that they are always just a text message away and they will always be there for me. I can tell them about the good times and the bad, I can laugh with them and I can cry with them, and I know that they will always have my back, no matter where in the world I am
-Internet cafe's, especially the VS Cafe and all of the employees there who always greeted me with a smile and a Freddo Cappuccino. (Side note, I still go back once a week even though I have wifi in my apartment now, just because I miss them! Not sure they miss me though! Ha!)
-A support team back home. Not just my family, but every person that reads my blog or checks my Facebook and wishes me well. There are more people than I realize that want me succeed and that are rooting for me. It's really great to have you in my corner, even if I don't always know or acknowledge that you're there
-WiFi in my apartment. Enough said
-Basketball. Bball has taken me some really awesome places. Not just around the globe, but in personal growth as well. It has helped introduce me to my closest friends and has provided an outlet for me in tough times. Basketball led me to college where I got a great education and has led me to fulfilling my dreams of playing professional ball. I've been to Denmark, France, Hawaii, the US Virgin Islands, Greece, Rome and countless other cities and states because of basketball. I've played and won against the best in the nation and have also come up short. I've celebrated because of basketball and I've cried because of basketball. I've known victory and I've known defeat. Basketball has led me through some deep valleys, but also some very high mountain peaks.
I could continue to go on and on with things I'm thankful for. I could talk about every family member I have and every friend I have and every cool thing I have ever done or experienced. And someday when I'm feeling down, I should because it would be a great reminder of how fortunate I am. I've done and seen some really amazing things in my relatively short life thus far and I'm blessed with the best support system a girl could ask for.
So while I couldn't have turkey and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and 3 different kinds of apple pie, that's not what the holiday is about to me anymore. And while I couldn't spend the holiday at home where my family lives, I've realized that family lives in your heart, too. I might be 6000 miles away from them most of the time, but I'm more thankful for them now than ever.
Today, I'm thankful for every day that I've woken up and been able to live my life. I'm living out my dream. Yeah, some days it's tough, but it's also made me really thankful for what and who I do have in my life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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