Michelle Sample is a 15-year-old from Southern California. She thoroughly enjoys playing the guitar and has successfully been doing so for over three years. Music holds an extremely special place in her life as of 2008. In addition, she has a passion for writing poetry.
I would like to share my personal feelings on what gratitude means to me at this point in my life.
Well, first of all, I am only 15, so I have not lived to see as many days as many people in my life. However, I can say that during those 15 years, I have discovered what it means to show gratitude, what it means to acknowledge the gratitude others have given to me, and the internal gratitude I feel for experiencing certain things, knowing certain people, and discovering certain things.
Currently, the main event I consider to be the one for which I am the most grateful is choosing to start playing the guitar. It started as a simple interest, and blossomed into an incredible journey that has shown me the majesty of music, music that explored concepts beyond the typical love-song theme. I am fortunate to say that I was born at just the right time. I have been able to see many of those now much older musicians, all of them wonderful to watch. In addition, as far as guitar-playing goes, I, along with my friends and loved ones, have noticed the passion I have for playing the instrument, and understanding it easily. Music has led me to meet some truly wonderful people, people who are unlike anyone that I have ever met. They help me to grow as a person and develop my musical knowledge.
Now, as stated before, I have also experienced internal feelings of gratitude over the past year. This started in January 2011, when my best friend, a cat named Tiger, died tragically from an awful case of kidney failure. That was the start of a whole lot of emotions that I had never felt before, grief being the main one. Sadly, the horror did not stop there. Before my family and I knew it, our eldest cat was put down, and our 7-year old dog succumbed to an autoimmune disease, all within the first three months of 2011. As small as this may seem, our family was crushed and overwhelmed with sadness, since we have a great amount of respect for animals. Over a year has past since those tragedies, and when I look back now, I am grateful for all the years I spent with my beloved pets, and the joy of having known them. What revitalized me and still maintains my inner peace, is my 10-month old golden retriever, Lilly. After some time had passed, we grew tired of the misery from living in a pet-free home, and felt ready to bring a dog home, and I am so glad we did. She is my light, my peace, and my happiness.
Overall, I think it is especially important to stay grateful for the things and people you have in your life, since you never know how long you will have them.
