There’s a lot going on in the world right now—and it can be difficult to feel anything other than anger, grief, or just flat-out horror. However, when I’m feeling particularly overwhelmed by the darkness in this world, I find it helpful to think about all the things I’m grateful for.  

This list definitely doesn’t run the gamut (I’m endlessly grateful for everything that I have in my privileged life), but I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that are topping my list as I think about everything that I’m so lucky to experience.

I’m grateful for…

1. Swims in the ocean

I truly believe the ocean is healing. Whether I’m getting over a cold or a heartache, salt water always seems to do the trick. This year, I’ve enjoyed the warmth of the Pacific which feels like home, the shock of cold jumping into the Irish sea, and the consistent pummeling of waves as I tried to learn to surf in Pacifica, and hoping to get a few more dips in before the year is over. Thank you to the ocean!

2. Early mornings in San Francisco

I don’t always make it out before my workday begins, but every time I am able to step outside for a morning walk or jog, just as the sun hits the city skyline, I remember just how beautiful this place is. Some of my favorite moments have also been with friends, motivating ourselves to jog in the morning, when really we’re just catching up. After we run up one of San Francisco’s brutal hills, spending time catching our breaths by looking at the wildflowers and admiring the cityscape with the TransAmerica building silhouetted by the sunrise.

3. Hikes with friends

If I’m honest with myself, I think I like the conversations more than the hiking itself. I’m better at talking with people when we’re side by side, moving. And I’m better at hiking when the goal isn’t how quick our pace is but how much we enjoy being together and breathing in the scent of redwoods or underbrush. I am so grateful for the hikes I was able to do with friends this year, and I’m determined to make it happen more often next year. 

4. People who show me grace as I try to learn new things

From the sweet crew at Sonlight Surfshop to the other surfers in the water at Linda Mar to a new set of friends who didn’t mind when I invited myself to come wakeboarding or to play basketball with them or sloshball—I am endlessly grateful to everyone who took my kook-ness in stride and treated me with kindness. I’ve spent most of my life avoiding so many things because I was afraid of others’ reactions to me being bad at them. I feel so much more confident now and ready to take on more. 

5. Cow the cat

He is, and always will be, my best friend.

6. Volunteering with friends

I volunteered at a couple of places when I first moved to the city, and though it was fun and rewarding, I never stuck with it. I am so grateful to my friends who enthusiastically invite me to join them as they try urban farming and trail maintenance. Volunteering is so much more fun and I’m so glad I’ve been able to extend the invite to beach cleanups and more. I am so thankful for reminding me that there is more we can give, your generosity, and the care you give to this planet. 

7. Kudos on Strava

No, I’m not doing it for the recognition, but like… it’s motivating, okay? Especially my girls liking when I forget to discard those 0.25 mile “runs” where I give up after five minutes because I’m just not feeling it and would rather walk and listen to smut on my audiobook app!

8. The library App (And Walking)

Speaking of audiobook apps, I’m so so so grateful for the library. I officially have a library card and there’s a whole world of audiobooks on the library app. This has been the best app I’ve ever downloaded. I’ll say it now and I’ll say it again, there aren’t many problems that a good long walk can’t help you solve. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, a walk is one of the best ways to help me get out of the funk. However, when I’m in said bad mood, it can be difficult to motivate myself to do anything besides sink into my couch like an ink ball. Knowing I have a juicy audiobook to listen to has gotten me out the door quite a few times this year, and I always feel so much better afterword.

9. Nearby nature

I haven’t had a car since I was twenty-four years old, and even then my car was in Hawaii. I’m so grateful that I live in San Francisco and that means I don’t need to rent a car every time I want to sit in a garden, go for hike, or find a beach. There are so many options that I can walk to, bike to, or catch the bus to. When I don’t feel like doing that, there are also trains that I can catch to amazing locations. It makes living in a city feel less like I’m trapped in a concrete jungle and more like I have the conveniences of nearby bodegas and nightlife, while still living that outdoor life when I want to. 

10. All of this year’s kook behavior 

Mainly grateful for all the kook-y antics that happened this year. From themed parties to tumbling down snow in Tahoe to weddings back home in Hawaii to losing my wallet to a stranger finding it and then me losing it again to nights in talking about nothing to nights out wondering how many cheese plates and bottles of wine are too many to using a machete to chop down artichoke plants to wiping out in a rainbow snow suit to wiping out on a rented surfboard to wearing president wigs on 4th of July to getting lost on my own neighborhood hikes with my mom on Oahu to dancing like weirdos at my uncles music … it’s been a weird one, and it’s been a great one.