ACCORDING TO MY OWN CLOCK...

Now..as many of you know,I'm not American so I've never celebrated Thanksgiving.

As far as I know..Thanksgiving is about spending time with family and most of all about gratitude.

Gratitude.

In the past year,I've learned that gratitude is not only a great feeling to live life by,but also a very powerful state of mind.

In fact..having an attitude of gratitude can make or break your day. 

Having an attitude of gratitude can make you look at life differently.

Pretty impressive,uh? 

Gratitude is powerful. 

 Even when I feel at my worst,when  the little evil monster that houses my mind wakes up and starts telling me bad things,I've found that if I focus on what I'm grateful for,I actually feel better. A lot better.

Gratitude is a powerful weapon to fight against my naughty little monster. When I manage to stop,look around and actually think about what I'm grateful for..the monster suddenly loses its power.

So..what or,most of all, who am I grateful for? Thinking of whom helps me in my fight against my evil monster?

I'll try and make a little list.

First of all..I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful for my mum,who can always understand when I feel down..who can cook the yummiest food in the entire world and is always ready to give me a hug.

I'm grateful for my dad..who always buys  me my favorite chocolate,makes me laugh and  always wants me to kiss him goodbye before I leave for school.

I'm grateful for my brother,for all his pranks and all the annoying songs he loves singing in my ear when I'm trying to focus.

I'm grateful for my uncle,for his funny text messages and for the fact that,to this day still,he often calls me princess.

I'm grateful for my aunt,for the super yummy food she cooks,for the driving lessons she gives me, for  

the tv shows we enjoy watching together.

I'm grateful for my other aunt...because we're basically the same person. I'm grateful for her... for all the times she helps me out,for all the times I called her in tears and she fixed me.

I'm grateful for my cousin..for the fact that he is always positive,for the fact that he gifted me a stethoscope and my walker...for the fact that he tells me I can become a doctor and shows me he believes in me.

I'm grateful for my walker..because it has changed my life and gave me the key to independence.

I'm grateful for my puppy..for his chewing on socks,licking my face and just being adorable all the time.

I'm grateful for my friends.
I'm grateful for Nicoletta because..after 6 long years,she's still by my side.
I'm grateful for Valentina,for all her calls during 5 years of school,for coming over to see me last year on Christmas Eve.
I'm grateful for Giacomo,for being the best deskmate ever.
I'm grateful for Tullio..for his kindness.
I'm grateful for Sara and her family, for the fact that they basically adopted me for a few hours every Saturday for 8 months,for the fact that they believed in me more than I did...for the yummy food and the laughs we shared together.
I will be forever grateful for Sara(yes,another Sara) for introducing me to writing when we were 10. Thank you. So much.
I'm grateful for Beatrice,for her kindness and sweetness. For the fact that she wipes my tears when I need her to,reads my stories and is genuinely interested in them. For her: "I cried when I read that scene,I love your writing".
I'm grateful for Erica and Betty..for our talking about food and our "English lessons" during lunch break.

I'm grateful for Elly..for her sweetness and kindness..for her "we'll go check out that shop together next time if you want".
I'm grateful for Luisa,for our afternoon together eating ice cream and strolling around the mall..for the passions we share,for her kindness.

I'm grateful,so grateful, for my Twitter friends.
 If they had told me I would have made so many friends and would have gone through so many experiences thanks to social media..I'm sure I wouldn't have believed a word. But I did meet so many wonderful people,learned so many things..all thanks to a Twitter profile I made on a whim,3 years ago.
I have so many Twitter friends to be grateful for.
 I'll try to make a list of them..but it's not easy,they're so many!
Well...let's start.
First of all,I'm grateful for Lyss,without whom I wouldn't have joined Twitter.

I'm so incredibly grateful for Fi because she's so amazing and she  has taught me so much..because she has taught me what incredible power lies in an attitude of gratitude and how to love myself. I would be weak and powerless against my evil monster,if it wasn't for her.

Thank you so so much Fi. You are amazing and you rock!!
I'm so  grateful for Liz..for everything she does for me. For our Skype calls,for our yoga sessions,for her teaching me how to pronounce some words correctly while I teach her Italian. For the hours of time difference separating us.. for our watching Grey's Anatomy "together",for our being each others' alarm clock,for her being there for me when my grandpa passed and I was sad and alone...for her being amazing.
Thank you. So much.
I'm grateful for Jess who is amazing and was there for me when I was crying all my tears on the couch,unable to stop. You are amazing,dear.
I'm grateful for Maria,for her amazing passion and drive,for her wonderful neuroethics video,for how inspiring she is and for her being simply amazing. You go,girl!
I'm grateful for @CraveHappy1 for telling me I could make it through Gen Chem and that I shouldn't give up on my dream of becoming a doctor.
I'm grateful for @FutureNYBSN because she's always so sweet and kind and she's always there for me...because she told be being a doctor is in my blood and that I have a big heart.
I'm grateful for @doctormeowskis and @studentdoctordiva who taught me the power of resilience and hardwork.

I'm grateful for @biologyinheels who was among the first people to tell me my worth was based on me.

I'm grateful for @BrunetteMDToBe who was there for me when I was broken and who is always so sweet and kind to me. 

I'm grateful for @sassymd for telling me I was bright.

I'm grateful for Vick and @AnnoyedandTired because they read my blog and they believe in me.

I'm grateful for Ruth,for her passion and resilience,for her being my friend...for her being an absolute star. You are amazing,keep going!

I'm grateful for Xan..for his being there for me when I needed him,for his kind words,for the time he spent dreaming with me..for the fact that he made me feel good.

I'm grateful for Andrew,who called me "drop dead gorgeous".

I'm grateful for @premedicalpug because she told me not to cancel my profile.

I'm grateful for @docA because she simply rocks. Because she talks to me and she's my friend.

I'm grateful for @sicklecelldoc because she's one of my role models and she's so amazing.

I'm grateful for @lauralacquer and @andreatooley..for their blogs and videos,for how much they inspire me,for them being such good role models to me. 

I'm grateful for @premed_odyssey and @rn_soontobe because they believe in me.

I'm grateful for @bipolarblogger and @thefinch because they are amazing. I'm grateful for Giulia(@MMMjuliette)because she's so amazing and supportive of me and my dream of becoming a doctor. You rock.

I'm grateful for Theresa because she's so amazing and sweet,she's a great nurse and she inspires me so much.

I'm grateful for Sofia because she is just so so amazing and sweet. For the fact that she's there when I need her,for the fact that she loves reading my stories and she takes a minute to tell me what she thinks about them. 

I'm grateful for Hannah..for her attitude,for her calling me "star", for #chronicmedics.

I'm grateful for Clare..for her being there for me when I need her,for her coming up with ideas for a present I had to make.

I'm grateful for Amanda,for being one of my role models and for telling me I'm going to be an amazing pediatrician.

I'm grateful for Magali for her being so sweet and kind,for her talking to me,for  her being my

friend.

I'm grateful for Sarah..for teaching me one can love both medicine and humanities at the same time. 

I'm grateful for Sarah(yes,another Sarah) for her correcting my wrong English every time. Grazie mille,cara.

I'm grateful for Liz..for her sweetness and kindness,for her blog,for her sending me yummy recipes.

I'm grateful for Becky because she's so sweet,kind and strong and because she's my friend.

I'm grateful for Emily because,no matter how bad she's feeling,she always has a kind word for me.

I'm grateful for Joe,for his help in chemistry and for him being among the first people to wish me happy birthday.

I'm grateful for Scott,for his being there for me when I was broken.

I'm grateful for Kate for her being so sweet and kind to me,for her nominating me in a challenge.

I'm grateful for Bianca..for her kindness,for our multi language chats.

I'm grateful for Kasia because she's simply amazing.

I'm grateful for Laura..for her Skyping to me on my birthday.

I'm grateful for Katie,for everything she has done for me. 

 And,last but not least,I'm grateful for the people who left me because they taught me I could get up on my own. 

Thank you.