Tonight my dear Benedetta from Perugia told me that she really likes what I write on my blog. I haven’t written anything for a while, so this is for her.
This December, I’ve been reminded how lucky I am.
It’s really hard to admit, because sometimes, like for the past couple of months, it doesn’t feel like I’m really lucky at all. But for all the times I feel like my life is worthless, I’m usually reminded how fortunate I am. Often when I least expect it, but none the less.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been struggling with depression related to missing my life in Moscow as an exchange student, winter depression, and anxiety due to stuff going on in my life. When I was in Russia for about two weeks, I was cheated out of quite a lot of money which didn’t help the situation.
But today, a friend was open about how (s)he has almost no money from day to day, and isn’t sure how to pay rent because the Norwegian government has decided to make things more difficult for those already struggling.
So here are some of the reasons I am lucky:
- I have friends all over the world. Today I called Benedetta, which reminded me I need to become much better at keeping in touch with my friends. None the less, I currently have people who care for me stationed in Italy, Russia, Norway, USA, Finland and Australia.
- I have disposable income every month. Not muchdisposable income, but enough that I barely manage to save some money for retirement every month and still have some left over. The next two months will be hard, but if I cut down on any extraneous spending, I should be able to get back what I lost in Russia – and then some – within a couple of months. My budget sensibilities are notoriously bad. If they were better, I’d have even more to spend every month.
- I have a fortune. Because I learned to save money (thanks, brother!), I now have a small fortune in my savings account that can save me when I get into situations like in Russia. It’s also allowed me to invest in my own projects, such as printing 78 copies of my latest book in Norwegian, a language that has ~5.5 million native speakers. Even if I don’t earn enough money in sales alone to recoup my investment, I’ll probably earn enough on the sale of the English version. I can give the remaining books out for free along with the next book I write or sell them next Christmas season.
- I’m creative and resourceful. I have passions, like writing, and the resources to turn those passions into fully fledged realities.
So this Christmas, please take a few moments to remind yourself of the things that are fortunate in your life.
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