So lucky

One of the things I'm really grateful for is the people and experiences I've been blessed to have in my life that have helped me become a more compassionate, better informed and understanding person. I have had a couple of moments lately where I've just been really grateful for people who have pointed out things about some hot topics that helped me understand a different perspective and realize that there were things in my own views that weren't well-informed. 

I know that if I hadn't been lucky enough to study abroad and to have experiences living in and traveling to different places and, most of all, making friends with people who have different experiences than me, I would be a very different person--and probably kind of a jerk. But I have been so blessed to have people who I respect and who, without anger or being condescending or putting me down, have been willing to be patient and have conversations with me that have really helped me understand different perspectives better and to realize that things that may have seemed contrary to my core values aren't (or at least, they help me see how I can still live my values while letting others live theirs and it's not actually a problem). They've helped me have compassion for "the other side". They have helped me be a better Christian, in my opinion, and to live my values better.

So I'm really grateful for all those friends and mentors and role models who have been willing to share themselves and have trusted me with that. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to see others as people and not just abstract "them"s. I'm really grateful for the person others have helped me become. Thank you, all.