
Ask HN: What are you thankful for? - japhyr
I think this gets asked most years, and I always enjoy the threads that come out of it. I am thankful for a family that I enjoy spending the holidays with. I am thankful that I had a safe childhood and got a good education throughout my life.<p>I am also thankful for the HN community. People dump on this site sometimes, but over most of the past decade HN has been an overwhelmingly positive part of my life. Thank you to everyone for what you bring to the community here.
======
didgeoridoo
I’m thankful for the heart donor who saved my newborn daughter’s life last
week.

My daughter contracted Coxsackie B enterovirus at 2 weeks old, and it scarred
her left ventricle beyond repair. Her donor has given her a second chance.
Another family had to make a heartbreaking choice at a devastating moment, and
they chose to give life to my daughter and probably several other gravely ill
infants.

Check your organ donor status please. Happy Thanksgiving.

~~~
hi41
I am happy for your family. I am an organ donor. I am also planning to donate
my body to a medical institution so that the medical students have a human
body to dissect and learn from. I hear that there is a dearth of human bodies.

Since the topic of organ donation came up, I thought of asking this question.
This is a real incident. I am not making this up. I met a learned priest. Both
I and the priest are hindus. He argued that since God gave us our body and
organs at birth, we need to give it back to God the body and all the organs at
death. I don't agree with the priests argument. It is just that I am not that
smart and don't know how to counter that argument. I am sure there are hindu
readers in HN community. Any thoughts on this?

~~~
protomyth
When you say "priest", do you mean Catholic priest? It makes a bit of a
difference since their are various church decisions on the subject.

~~~
vmurthy
Nah. The OP mentions "Hindu" priest.

~~~
protomyth
Missed that, thanks.

------
grad_ml
-I was laid off ~60 days back. Being on H1B( I'm an indian, who attended school here and been living here since last 10 years) means either I gotta get a job in 2 months or pack my bag. I got a better job and I'm gonna start working on this monday :) \- Good physical health, decent mental health. Universe have been very kind to me. I wish this kindness persists and I could become better self of myself.

Happy thanksgiving to y'all!

~~~
rtpg
Great, it really sucks that people on work visas can basically be threatened
with deportations by their employers like this because of all the ways
unemployment can go wrong. Good look with the new job :)

~~~
baroffoos
It also sucks for locals because some corps will strongly preference people on
work visas since they basically own the employees.

~~~
jhowell
Is it possible that at some point someone in your family tree was preferred
for employment due to their immigration, or perhaps other status, which
created opportunities that brought you to where you are today?

~~~
baroffoos
No, my ancestors were very likely somewhat involved in the violent takeover of
Australia.

~~~
jhowell
Well, that as you say, sounds like it "sucks for locals" to be certain.

------
johnpowell
A few months ago another cancerous spot popped up. The oncologist wanted to
hold off a bit and see how it was reacting to my current medication. I wasn't
thrilled about this since your urge is to just get in there and kill it. But
he probably knows best. But about a week ago he said that since it isn't
spreading they might as well go in and zap it with some radiation.

This is ideal since I can deal with a bit more radiation and I was worried I
was looking at more chemo. I'm really sick of chemo, but as long as it it
isn't neck/mouth radiation it is easy.

So next week I go in for a "simulation" where I get put in a person-sized
beanbag and they put in a IV to inject contrast and then they stick me in a CT
machine to map out exactly where they need to radiate. And then they suck the
air out of the beanbag and mold it around you. A "Han Solo frozen in
carbonite" situation. That way you can't move when they actually administer
the radiation. That and they shove a tube in your mouth and turn off your
breathing for a while so your abdomen doesn't move. The first time having my
breathing turned off was a problem. But I have hitting the cardio hard for the
last six months so it should be a breeze.

Hopefully radiation will start the week after that. And it is only five
treatments (20 minutes) spread out over two weeks. Chemo would have been
months of significant discomfort. It is all horrible but this is a lot less
horrible. But now that there is a real plan to deal with this I am in a much
better head-space. I was a bit of a grump until a few days ago. Now I am happy
working on stuff around the house instead of just sitting and bitching about
everything.

~~~
333c
How do they stop your breathing? And for how long?

~~~
johnpowell
They put in what is essentially a tube similar to what a scuba diver would
wear with a piece that goes between your gums and lips. Then they monitor your
breathing for a bit and they start to countdown. Then they just turn off a
valve and no air can get in. As long as you don't panic your chest doesn't
move. If you do panic they make you take Ativan before each treatment.

I'm extremely claustrophobic so I take a number of pills before each treatment
to relax.

Last time I had this done they stopped it seven times for about 90 seconds
each time. The first time they did a countdown from 90 letting me know how
long to hold my breathe. The countdown made it about a billion times worse so
I asked them to stop. Now I just close my eyes and let the pills take me to a
better place.

~~~
majos
Is the ability to hold your breath for 90 seconds common? I can’t imagine
doing this. At least not without days or weeks of preparation.

~~~
johnpowell
It is when when you have to. And it isn't like being underwater. You pretty
much close your eyes and go to a different place. And like I said. Pills help
a lot.

And I had practiced (sitting at my desk) once I knew what had to be done and
really struggled. No doubt, once they said I could breathe I spent a few
minutes gasping for air.

But I have been shooting hoops for about 45 minutes everyday in the driveway
for months. So my cardio is way better than the first time I had to do this.
This time will be a picnic. The nice thing about radiation is they let you
pick what music you want. Being the horrible person I am I use it as a way to
introduce the radiation techs to new music.

------
jakebasile
I'm thankful for being raised by a great mother, father, and grandmother; and
for finding a wonderful and supportive wife.

I'm thankful for living in the United States, where many of my inherent rights
are as of now still not infringed.

I'm thankful for having the luck and predilection for being in the software
industry, which has been good to me overall.

I'm thankful for Clojure, and the JVM, and all the other software I use to
build my career on that has been given to me for free.

I'm thankful for the health I have despite mistakes made.

I'm thankful I still have life ahead of me.

------
elcaminocomplex
To be reunited with the woman I married who had a mental health crisis and
divorced me in the throes of it. She could have ended up dead or homeless but
somehow managed to stay safe enough that when police intervened and called her
family she was able to get the help and diagnosis she needed.

We’ve been back together for nearly two years now but it’s really sinking in
now how close we all came to losing her permanently to death or ending up
another nameless face on the streets.

~~~
cklemming
Wow. Really happy for the both of you.

------
Waterluvian
Despite 12 years of terrible grades, due to an education system that simply
didn't fit, which pretty much banned me from engineering or computer science
in university, I still managed to find a different route into software
engineering. I love it. It challenges me every day. It is exciting and
engaging and fun. I've found self-drive and motivation _without_ the need for
medication anymore. And because of it my family gets to grow up in a household
where there's never any fights about money, something that was all too present
when I was a kid.

I'm thankful for finding our first and hopefully last home this year. It's
amazing how different it feels to have a stake in the ground. Everything feels
worth doing properly, spending a little extra on, taking care of.

I'm thankful for my family's good health. Part of that is thankfulness for
living in a part of the world where my employment isn't tied to our health. I
feel so lucky that I'm in charge of my future and don't feel in any way
controlled by, "but I can't quit, I need health insurance/mortgage payment/
etc." It's a liberating feeling to be able to walk away at any minute if I
really needed to. When my mom got sick my dad instantly retired and they spent
the twilight of her life travelling the world. What an amazing gift.

~~~
mikelbring
I relate to this a lot. I managed a six figure career as a software engineer
with bad school grades and no college.

------
GlenTheMachine
I’m grateful I can get out of bed in the morning and walk around on my own
feet. There have been mornings when I couldn’t.

I am grateful to be able to relieve myself without needing help. They’ve been
days I couldn’t do that either. Sometimes it’s the little things, like not
spending Thanksgiving with a catheter.

I’m extremely grateful to have a partner who loves me. There have been a LOT
of days when I didn’t.

I’m grateful to have a job. Again, there have been days when I didn’t. Not
many but enough.

I’m grateful to have a body that mostly works, the freedom and ability to
travel, whether to the corner store or around the world, rewarding work, and
people in my life who treat me with kindness. I am very blessed.

------
0xcraft
My kids are launching into adult life and finding their callings and paths.

I am thankful for my expanding understanding of family. My wife's ex is maybe
not a brother but close. Our Christmas mornings have exes, current and former
in-laws, kids, and extended family all mixed together in wonderful fun ways.

This year a half sister, I didn't know I had, connected with me. The first DNA
relative I can talk with about tech. Now we are catching up on 40 plus years
of life we didn't share!

The never ending energy to learn, grow, and expand my self awareness.

The many ways love comes to us.

~~~
markgavalda
That is so rare that an extended family like that gets along that well, I'm so
happy to hear that it's actually possible, kudos to you all!

------
JDiculous
I'm thankful for being born in a first world country with parents who could
care for me.

I'm thankful to work in an industry where I can take a multi-year sabbatical
and still find employment within a couple weeks, where I can work remotely and
pay my month's rent in only a couple days of work.

I'm thankful for all the good people I've met in my life.

And I'm thankful for my health.

~~~
qmmmur
What's your specific area of expertise and work?

~~~
erlag
That's alsow what I would like to know

~~~
nkkollaw
Me too.

------
indymike
I'm thankful that my youngest daughter is still alive after attempting
suicide. I'm also thankful for all of the people who intervened and supported
her during two very frightening months.

~~~
phamjamstudio
I hope things get better for your daughter/family!

~~~
indymike
Thank you. They seem to be, and our family is optimistic.

------
muzani
I'm thankful for my mental health. Seems like these days half my friends are
on anti-anxiety and depression medication.

I'm thankful for my physical health too. I may be a little overweight but it's
still above average for my friend group. I get sick maybe twice a year,
certainly beats being on dialysis or whatever.

I'm thankful for having a family, someone I belong to, and who belongs to me.

I'm thankful for having a good job. We get stressed out sometimes (downsides
of a startup), but they're all good, honest folk. And we haven't adopted
bureaucratic processes yet, so it's been great for my flow.

~~~
peteretep
> Seems like these days half my friends are on anti-anxiety and depression
> medication.

I am immensely grateful for my anti-anxiety medication.

~~~
op00to
Anti-anxiety medication doesn't seem to be working for me, but I am having a
hard time figuring out what to do next with my psychiatrist. It's not as if
switching medication is somehow better than sticking with something that's of
unknown efficacy. Ugh.

~~~
peteretep
That sucks. Everyone’s different but, some anecdotes from my experience...

The Lexapro that I’m on right now basically did nothing for me at 10mg, but I
stuck with it for almost a year. I eventually went to try and get something
else, and humoured the psych by trying to go to 15mg first. The change was
dramatic and positive.

I started doing the keto diet for strictly weight related reasons, and found
that as a side effect it also had a big impact. Took eight weeks or so before
I noticed a difference.

Cutting my alcohol consumption has also seemed to have a pretty good effect.

I’ve found beta blockers to be great for any break-through anxiety, but might
be placebo effect.

------
softwaredoug
I’m thankful for my parents, though imperfect, have done their best to raise
me and setup an environment where I can have a fulfilling and financially
successful life as a software developer.

Thankful I have a history degree so I can stop stressing about the news and
put the broader strokes in context.

Thankful I work in an industry, that despite thinking software can solve
everything, still has a culture of tackling big problems.

Thankful for my healthy kids that keep me on my toes. Thankful for my wife who
puts up with me and all my quirks.

Thankful for having met and learned from so many colleagues smarter than me in
my field.

Thankful for clients of my consulting firm that have placed their sacred trust
in me and my colleagues. I’m forever humbled by your choice to work with me.

~~~
dhruvkar
>> Thankful I have a history degree so I can stop stressing about the news and
put the broader strokes in context.

I'd love to know your take on current events in the US.

~~~
softwaredoug
I suppose it just gives me perspective that “this too shall pass”. And that
these conflicts take longer than one lifetime to win...

More specifically, the years since the civil war up until the last few decades
have had this post civil-war reconciliation that was rooted in trying to let
bygones be bygones amongst whites. But it also setup an environment where post
civil war problems of blacks (ie lynching, suppression of civil rights) were
ignored to forward reconciliation. Republicans switched from a party focused
on civil rights to one focused on business.

In the post ww2 period - in the past few decades, since the civil rights
movement has partisanship gradually grown to its current conflict. There’s a
lot clearly rooted in white identity/status in GOP needs for power (a
definition of “whiteness”, btw, that would be alien to Americans 100 years
ago)

There’s a constant connection through US history between coded ethnic
discrimination and partisanship. But that the country goes through cycles:
between of ethnic division to conflict to integration into more unified
identity

So I have a skepticism that “partisanship is bad”. Rather I’m wondering how
the cycle continues. This point of conflict, is a chance for building a
new/different society with expanded human rights. Fighting for human rights is
a fight beyond any one election, generation, or lifetime and it has to be
fought with that attitude.

I would recommend the new Frederick Douglass biography as well as learning
about the abolitionist movements in general. Talk about a seeming hopeless
struggle against entrenched interests...

------
WomanCanCode
I'm thankful for my family. And for not living in one of those mafia run
country where you don't have any freedom of speech. I'm thankful not to have
religion force on me. I'm thankful for having well stocked supermarkets so I
can easily feed my family. I'm thankful that our police and sheriffs are not
our enemy or used as a tool of suppression. I'm thankful that when our news
organizations get disgusted with corruptions and wrong doing, they sometimes
exposes the rich and powerful. I'm thankful for a fair judicial system where
you are judged fairly. I'm thankful that good people exists in the world that
still takes care of one another.

~~~
mrleinad
And you never said where you live

~~~
bpodgursky
Why does it matter? It's what s/he is thankful for.

------
eucryphia
Winning the lottery of life, being born in Australia after world war 2 where
everyone born is in the global top 1%.

~~~
jakobmi
Same for US, Japan, Germany, UK, and France

~~~
kick
That's not true in the US's case (or basically any country, for that matter).
Sorry for breaking your fantasy.

[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03057...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X17300396)

------
geff82
I am thankful for the fact that now over 7 years ago, I turned my life around.
Being in a downward spiral, I met my wife who was also in one. But then, after
long talks, we got our act together, and nowadays we are a family of 5, are
financially well off, travel a lot, never stop learning and educating
ourselves, soon buy a big house. Saying that, I am also very thankful for the
great education my country provides for "free" (yes I know it is paid for by
taxes, which I also pay a lot). It made it possible to attend University
besides working. I just have to put work in. So anyone who is willing to make
their lives better, can do so.

------
mjrbrennan
I'm thankful that I was born in the amazing, peaceful country of Australia
with a high quality of life.

I'm thankful my boys are healthy and happy.

I'm thankful for my amazing wife who has always pushed me to follow my dreams.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to work in the software industry, well-paid
and not toiling in manual labour, for a company that treats its employees well
and is a pleasure to work for.

I'm thankful for the incredible luck that seems to follow me wherever I go.

------
mlang23
I am thankful for having been born at the end of the 70s, just at the right
time. Had I been born substantially earlier, I probably would not have
survivesd as I started into this world with a tumor in both eyes which was
treated with a ton of radiation when I was still an infant. Technology was
already advanced, but not "too much". I was lucky enough to experience the
newsgroup era on the internet, a time when people were still using ASCII and
fixed fonts to convey complex information. I was able to take part in a lot of
things which today would no longer be possible as the technologies employed
are mostly inherently inaccessible. My understanding of the world is to a
large extent based on the fact that in the past, I could participate a lot
easier then is possible today.

So, had I been born earlier, I would have died. And had I been born later, I
would have felt the digital divide even more harshly then I already do.

~~~
ovebepari
I have light asthma and I think of the timing of my arrival in this world at
times too. Had I been born a few hundred years earlier, I probably would not
have survived as I had to do a lot of physical hard work which I can't always.

------
s_Hogg
Thank you for posting this, I'm thankful for people who remind us to be
thankful for what we've got.

This includes the protestors in Hong Kong reminding my countrymen of the value
of democracy.

Five demands, not one less.

------
ilyas-shah
I am thankful for being alive and in good physical and mental health. I am
thankful to myself who keeps on pushing and not giving up when there are
challenges in life. I am thankful to all those people who spread positivity in
this world and doing their bit to make this world a better place. I am
thankful to God who blessed me with what all I have. I am thankful for having
such a nice and supportive family. I may be far away from them but they live
inside me.

There are countless things to be thankful for and grateful for. It's just we
don't realize different things we are blessed with.

------
fishtoaster
I'm thankful that people want to pay me ludicrous sums of money to do the
thing I love.

I've seen my friends who have the same passion for art, or literature, or even
STEM fields like biology and psychology, struggle to make a living "doing what
they love." Many of them end up as baristas and uber drivers while they try to
make it in their chosen fields.

Me? I went to school for something I found fun. I didn't choose programming
because it was a wise career move - I chose it because people told me if I do
what I love, I'd never work a day in my life.

I've certainly made some decent career moves. I moved to where the jobs were,
I learned some hot technologies, and I learned a bit about the business side
of things. But overall, my very comfortable position in life is due to luck.

Luck that I was exposed to programming early on.

Luck that I was able to take a traditional, safe path from "I like coding" to
"I have a job coding."

But most of all, luck that when I got out of school, there was ridiculous
demand for the thing I would have done for fun anyway.

I'm thankful that the job market is great for devs in SF, and that I love
software dev. As a result, I try my best to be aware that most people are
fighting a _much_ more uphill battle than me.

~~~
notduncansmith
Similarly, I’m thankful for my good fortune in going to a high school that
offered programming classes; for having enough computer-savviness to become a
software developer; that this field is unregulated enough that someone like me
can earn an almost-unconscionably-good living doing something that, like you
said, would be a hobby anyways. I have my dream job, I have a beautiful son
and partner, our family is in good health, and are aware of the areas that we
should be working to better ourselves... I just hope to make enough of a
positive impact from the incredible head start the universe has given me. I’m
thankful for this chance to play the game, and I’m thankful that the game
exists to be played.

------
coolswan
I'm thankful to live in a country that respects my basic human rights. Having
met those less fortunate, I've realized I've taken this for granted way too
long. Birth is the greatest randomizer to your life.

~~~
ovebepari
which country?

------
superasn
I'm thankful to Dr.Sarno for his book called Healing back pain which gave me
my life back from the crippling back pain.

I was in so much pain 2 years ago that all I could think about was pain but
reading his book about TMS and applying his teachings has virtually reduced my
pain to almost nothing without any pills, surgery, physio or exercise.

So thank you Dr.Sarno. You have changed the life of many people all over the
world with your research.

~~~
timcederman
I'm glad you got better, but I am baffled at how enthusiastic folks are about
this book. I think this Amazon review sums up my concerns pretty well:
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-
reviews/R3M3YGYR7X3P9L/re...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-
reviews/R3M3YGYR7X3P9L/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0446557684#R3M3YGYR7X3P9L)

------
patio11
I'm also quite thankful for HN, and the broader community ("software
people"?), for helping me find something that I really enjoy doing and a
community to be in the service of.

Other than that: family is relatively happy and healthy, and next to that
there are few things to possibly ask for.

------
vmurthy
I am thankful for a wonderful family. We have our moments of despair but I
don't know where I would be without a loving wife and an overly curious 5 year
old kid :)

I am thankful for coming across a habit that makes me think about what I am
thankful for regularly. This has really helped me overcome a pessimistic
nature and provides a sort of regular check-in on my life.

------
jesalg
I'm thankful for having finally found a beautiful home that I could afford in
a very populated city

I'm thankful for the birth of my beautiful, happy and healthy baby

I'm thankful for working in an industry where my skills are in demand and has
plenty of opportunities to work from home

I'm thankful for my wife who is an incredibly strong, kind and inspiring woman
as well as an amazing mom

I'm thankful for living in the U.S which has given me many opportunities to be
grateful for

------
brailsafe
I'm thankful that I've managed to move to a better place than my hometown
which doesn't have mountains and keep it going for a while, my supportive and
chill gf, apartment in an awfully difficult market, physical health, these
sweet Muji pens, discovery of some of the best hip-hop artists/groups over the
last few months (MF doom, Danger Mouse, Del the Funky Homosapien, Mos Def,
Jurassic 5), Underworld's new record, my family still mostly being alive, and
finding a new job despite an atrocious employment record and recent ADD
epiphany. Less thankful for misophonia, could do without that.

------
puranjay
I'm thankful for my wife. I fell in love with her when I was 17. I'm 32 now
and I haven't stayed more than a week away from her. It's the single greatest
source of happiness in my life.

I'm thankful for stumbling into a career that has allowed me to make a
comfortable living without dealing with the BS of bosses and commuting and
wearing stuffy suits.

I'm thankful for the internet, for I owe my career to it. If it wasn't for the
wonderful people and communities and blogs online, I wouldn't know the things
I do, and I would have never made a living.

~~~
ogrim
Are you me? I met my wife at 17, and will be 32 in a month :)

~~~
puranjay
Congrats :)

It's something extraordinary, isn't it?

------
nimvlaj30
I am thankful that after being addicted to weed for over a year, I got my shit
together. I started weightlifting 3* a week, have gotten myself into a
postgrad programme, and have been steadily losing weight. I have also recently
started writing every day.

I'm a much better person now, and have mostly kicked the depression and
anxiety (even though they show up sometimes).

~~~
algaeontoast
I had a friend I recently had to cut ties with because he refused to seek help
for mental health problems and just self-medicated with marijuana. For
context, a mutual friend who owns an edibles company though he consumed too
much.

Very curious of your thoughts on marijuana addiction if you’d be willing to
share.

This was one of the first times I had to break off a friend because they
refused to take care of their mental health. (But mostly a response to a
psychotic break and political rant that I decided to walk away from instead of
engage in)

~~~
nimvlaj30
It really helped me through a pretty dark period in my life. I had an
existential crisis straight out of university.

I think there's value in it as a drug. I thought very creatively while on it,
and wrote down a lot of notes for my fiction writing.

The downside for me was that it made it very difficult to motivate myself to
exercise and improve my life. I stopped and was going to the gym 3* a week
shortly after.

I haven't smoked in over a year, and will probably only do it on special
occasions or with friends, if at all.

It's a wonderful drug for sharing experiences, thinking creatively, or getting
outside of a rut in your thinking.

But it is not nearly as harmless as people say it is, and I'm glad I've given
it up.

------
tagreene92
I had a long term, off and on again, thoroughly toxic relationship. Many
years.

I ended it this year, am totally out, and have never felt happier, lighter,
and more confident about my life.

~~~
tagreene92
Sorry, I guess there’s a lot of stuff in that I’m thankful for :)

------
juliend2
I'm so thankful for the civilization we're living in. We take if for granted,
but most of what we do is due to the fact that we have so many technological
abstractions in so many aspects of our lives. Like just eating a breakfast in
the morning would not be as good/easy 50k years ago.

On a more personal note, I'm thankful for having stopped checking facebook
since about a year now, and feeling better, having more time, and building my
own company.

------
BuckRogers
Definitely not my family. Friends have been far less toxic, and those that
know me hold a great amount of respect for me which they've shared with me
over the past few years. I'm very thankful that an outsider feels that way
about me because my family makes me feel like I'm a zero, when I've worked
hard to live up to my own high standards.

I'm mainly thankful for my integrity and solid character that I've built over
decades, which requires years of dedication and sacrifice. My persistent and
resilient nature through adversity and having continually improved and
challenged myself. I've accomplished every single goal that I've put my mind
to. I know if the economy and currency collapses, as long as I have at least
one hand that I'll survive when others are putting guns to their heads. I
can't be broken or demoralized and I can't be stopped, and I'm very thankful
for that. Hard work is how we achieve stability in this life, and I can push
through work projects no matter how horrible. I'm thankful for that.

I've always told myself, "to stop me, this is going to have to kill me",
whether it was a physical or mental task, and I have no idea where this
motivation sprang from, it must be genetic because I've been that way all of
my life, but I'm thankful for it. Even as I was abandoned and unsupported
physically/emotionally/psychologically by family since I was a child and still
speaks ill of me behind my back even as I approach middle age. I'm thankful to
have worked a tax-paying job since 12, and worked before then under the table
(yes, I'm American, born and raised).

I don't think we should be thankful for material things, friends or family
because both are fickle. Be thankful for your own character. And if you lack
character and integrity, build it even if it requires work, because no one can
take it away. You'll be surprised as people notice and respect you, even if
you have no money, and strength of character may serve you well in the years
ahead during the coming challenging economic times.

~~~
nvarsj
Thanks for this. I've been having a rough couple years and this really helps
out. I've grown more as a person than I did in the prior 10 years. That is
something to be thankful for.

Strength of character is forged in the fires of adversity.

~~~
BuckRogers
Absolutely. I posted it for that reason. I thought that people needed to hear
another perspective than the whole "my family" line. Not everyone has all of
these luxuries. We're truly on our own, not kinda-sorta on our own. You'll
make it my friend, and you'll feel the fear in the hearts of men around you
when times are tough, and you'll be built for it.

------
muffa
Thankful to grow up in country where hospitals are free(I have never needed
medical attention but close family members) and higher-education is paid for
so I could study for 6 years without stressing about money.

~~~
boyka
Wow, where did you grow up?

~~~
muffa
Sweden!

------
badrabbit
Everything. My life, my great job, my relationships, my
vehicle,apartment,health,security and much more.

Above all things, I am grateful to my God's grace,blessings and Mercy through
which I have all these things and many more.

Which of us can fail to find something to complain about in this short life? I
can tell you I can find plenty with minimal effort. It is so easy to forget
the things you're thankful for when you complain. And when you forget those
things hope fleets away and without hope you have nothing to look forward to,
no reason to endure another today, no ability to enjoy today as you wait for
"some day". Here is to appreciating our beliefs,hopes and posessions so that
we may forge a tomorrow that is better than today.

------
mhammerc
I like that question!

I am thankful for School 42 - Paris. In France, it is the only school which
offer a (very) good software engineering training for _free_. Without that
school, I would have made a 3-year study in a public school and my life would
not have been nowhere close my today's life.

I am thankful for all the people who likes and accept me even if I may be a
weird guy.

I am thankful for the enterprise where I am working since 2 years, it is a
real family.

And, I am thankful to all the individuals, organizations, open-source project,
initiatives, all around the world which makes a better world to live in.

Last but not least, I am thankful to all the people which are hidden, but
makes our lives being worth to live in today standards.

------
thsowers
I'm thankful that my mother was able to "beat" cancer for at least the time
being. I am extremely grateful for the time that I have with her.

I am thankful to music, for being so diverse, and so amazing. It has given my
life much meaning in times of both light and dark.

I am thankful to nature; hills, valleys, wind, water, stars, forests and
mountains, for their indescribable beauty

------
xenyal
I'm thankful for the health of my family, and that of my extended one. I'm
thankful for the support and care of my close friends, and I wish the best for
them. I'm thankful for a flourishing career in my 20s, after having left
university with mental health, and confidence issues that left me in the
lowest point in my life, up to that point. I'm thankful that I made better
choices that align way better with my sense of self, and what I truly want in
this life. I'm also incredibly grateful for the mentorship I've been receiving
along the way.

------
BLKNSLVR
I am thankful for the path that has lead me to who and where I am.

I am thankful that all the whinges and gripes I hear from most people are
microscopically trivial in the scope of humanity's history because it means
that life is good.

I am thankful that I can recognize this.

I am thankful for Pi-Hole (which reminds me, I need to donate to it)

------
maury91
I'm thankful for having a girlfriend that loves me and supports me

I'm thankful I was born in a family that teach me good values and kept me away
from drugs and bad life

I'm thankful for having a job

I'm thankful for having a roof over my head

I'm thankful for having good physical health

I'm thankful for having food at home every day

I'm thankful for having a computer and internet connection

I'm thankful I can go to eat out at least once a month

I'm thankful I had the chance to study as a software engineer

I'm thankful I had the chance to improve my career by working outside my
original country

I'm thankful I was born in Europe

------
yesimahuman
My 3 y/o son received an autism diagnosis earlier this year. Seeing him do so
well starting school this fall and starting to have lots of new words is what
I'm thankful for!

~~~
euvitudo
You have a long road ahead of you--but it's a good road. Mine was diagnosed
around 5 and is now in high school. That diagnosis meant services and
accommodations that he was able to receive, which if he had not received,
would have meant a much more difficult road through school. Thankfully our
district does an amazing job working with him (and other special needs
children).

It's an experience being a parent of an autistic child, but I wouldn't trade
it. Certainly something to be grateful for.

~~~
yesimahuman
Thanks :) I really appreciate hearing more experiences. I adore him, and I’m
thankful he did get the diagnosis because we’ve had access to a lot more
services. I also know each autistic child is different!

I’m also very curious to see how having a neurotypical little sister impacts
his growth. Already seems to be having a big impact.

Insurance has been a big stress point but we’re navigating and getting
Medicare has helped a bit.

------
marvin
A lot of things. A loving, healthy and supportive family above all. Good close
friends. Good health, mental and physical. Good genetics.

Also, living in our time, in our part of the world, where technology, wealth
and opportunity is everywhere. Being intelligent, and having the opportunity
to learn and be curious. Having significant economic freedom.

Having had the luck and skill to learn a profession that's well paid and in
high demand. Being in a society where it's acceptable to not use all your
energies at work, but take significant unpaid time off work regularly. The
market economy, which for all its practical drawbacks provides a lot of
opportunity for saving and applying my small degree of personal power and
influence, to provide good quality of life for those around me and myself.

Also importantly, which might not be mentioned too much in these contexts, a
healthy and interesting sex life. Living in a society where there's plenty of
space for safely and consentually living out freakier proclivities, and for
having the personal traits that make this possible. A society that has space
for and accepts sexual minorities, be it queer, trans, kinky or any of the
other variations of the well-known mainstream. And many of these people.

------
therealdrag0
I'm glad I ended up in a career I love. I love the mental problems, I like the
high pay, I like having work flexibility, I like my coworkers. And I feel
blessed that alls these factors have remained positive across 5 companies.
Life is good.

~~~
ovebepari
Software Engineering? Mathematics Professor?

~~~
therealdrag0
Software engineer :)

------
wsc981
I'm thankful for having the most beautiful daughter in the world.

I'm thankful that my job pays me good money compared to most people.

I'm thankful I can work everyday from home.

------
veddox
We don't generally celebrate Thanksgiving here in Germany, but perhaps we
should :-)

I'm thankful for the strength to tackle my tasks and responsibilities, many
dear friends near and far and a family that is still (for the most part) close
by. Also, the opportunity to spend my life working on things I enjoy and that
have a positive impact on others.

------
vharuck
I'm thankful for my parents. Because of their planning, saving, and support, I
graduated college despite mental health issues, a "I'm thinking of suicide"
note, and breaking off a wedding engagement to move back in with my parents.

Now I have a degree in a subject I loved, a nice desk job that encourages me
to research and apply new ideas, a wife who is the fiancee I broke up with,
and a home in a great school district for our future child. We just got back
from a trip to the West Coast and are planning to go to Japan and Germany in
the future.

The odds of this life were not in my favor, despite being a white American
from the middle class (though those didn't hurt). I am lucky. I and everyone
who feels this lucky should give other people chances to stumble on their own
lucky path.

~~~
skrebbel
> Now I have a degree in a subject I loved

Is that "d" a typo or is this a little speck of sadness inside an otherwise
heartwarming story?

------
christiansakai
I won a green card lottery 3 years ago. I am still thankful to God to this day
that I am blessed. Even though I kept getting rejected from FAANG I am still
thankful.

~~~
cvaidya1986
Start your own startup.

~~~
christiansakai
Ah, I did 4 years ago, and it failed. I learned a lot from that process. But I
realized that I am currently (5 years into my software engineering career)
don't have the ideas and expertise (in terms of domain specific problems) or
the funding. To start my own startup seems 10x harder than just doing leetcode
and getting into FAANG.

------
tobsmagoats
Thankful for my health, life may not be going my way at the moment but I know
someone out there is just wishing they were just healthy for once.

------
gumby
I am glad to be alive. It was touch and go for a while but I think I am out of
the woods.

------
sekasi
I'm thankful for having had people in my life that have given me opportunity
when I frankly didn't deserve the opportunity. I'm very conscious to make sure
that I pass that kindness on when it's appropriate.

------
spydum
Incredibly thankful for the overwhelming opportunity we are all afforded in
our industries. As many gripes and flaws we all enjoy pontificating about,
there simply is no other line of work such as ours.

------
zitterbewegung
Having a well paying job that I enjoy.

Having a supportive family where we can enjoy Thanksgiving together.

All the things I have achieved this year such as getting promoted and learning
more about NLP with deep learning.

Getting rid of a lot of debt.

------
jbhatab
Im thankful for the world I was born into. A relatively non violent world
while the internet is establishing. Im standing on the shoulders of great
people that brought electricity, computers, math, writing, language, art, and
all of the discoveries that made what i do possible. The fact that the
universe randomly produced cells that combined and turned into humans. Im a
stupid pretty useless creature, but with humanity I'm able to apply my mind,
be happy, and evolve with others. It's truly awe inspiring.

------
bransonf
I’m thankful for all of the mentors I’ve had thus far. There’s really
something special about sharing your passions with someone at a stage much
earlier than you.

To the professors who showed me programming, and statistics...

To the successful business men who gave me connections to build a network...

All of my bosses, who have given me opportunities to grow...

I’m grateful. And I’m ever more grateful because I recognize many people do
not experience the privileges I’ve had. Life has never been a clear or
straight path, but mentors have always shown me the paths to take.

------
ozzmotik
I'm thankful for my friend who brought me up here to Pennsylvania and saved me
from having to continue living with heroin addicts who were constantly
accusing me of using them when they were the ones using me. I'm also thankful
that he has been there for me for the past few years trying to push me along
in the right path, and that I finally got the message and realized that it's
time to stop sabotaging myself and work towards my future. I am also thankful
that he has given me a position within his company as one of the early members
of it as an account manager, and also the opportunities I have identified to
write code and automate business processes, as I have not had the motivation
or drive to write any substantial amount of code in years. I am also thankful
that he has taken a hard line on my sobriety and facilitated an environment
where I can finally work towards learning more about my "true" self, not the
self that is hidden behind layers of drugs and escapism.

Most of all, I'm thankful that for the first time since my son was in my life,
that I feel alive and like I have purpose again. I'm thankful to be here in
this moment, and I am thankful that I have an outlet here on hacker news to
share what I am thankful for :)

------
gratalis
I'm grateful for countless things. Specific to this forum, I'm thankful for
everyone who freely and graciously shares their time, knowledge and
experiences.

------
blhack
Thankful I get to live where I do, and mostly get to work on passion projects
all the time. I have an amazingly talented and supportive wife (hey honey
wanna go sleep in your minivan and compete in this hackathon with me?! I’ll do
backend you do front end!), and amazingly supportive, ideologically aligned
friends with whom I get to work on the aforementioned passion projects with.

I’m really, really lucky, and I try not to ever let myself forget it.

------
Pranz
I'm thankful for my family and the great support I've gotten from them.

I'm thankful for the healthcare system which has provided a great deal for my
brother, even though progress is slow.

I'm thankful for my friends, their interest and enthusiasm.

I'm also thankful for HN and the greater tech community. My parents do not
have a higher education and without HN and the surrounding internet I'm not
sure I'd have pursued one.

Happy thanksgiving from Sweden!

------
mister_hn
Been grateful to have found job in another country and ditched toxic
friendships and people from my born-city. Wages are 3-4x higher than what IT
pays in my country, so I could afford to be stable and have a family,
something now millennials are struggling for.

I am thankful to myself for having also deleted my Facebook account, removing
also the above toxic relationships further.

------
27182818284
I hope this thread repeats each Thanksgiving on HN.

------
wyldfire
Don't tell my boss but I have the greatest flipping job ever. Just another
software dev but challenging, interesting, and yet not high
pressure/intensity. Great compensation and recognition.

I'm healthy aside from the results of my poor diet. My family is healthy too.

Born in the US to a wealthier than average family. I am thankful that almost
everything in my life has gone my way.

------
cm2012
That the world is getting so much better for so many people. Here's a Twitter
thread from 2017 going over just a few of ways the world has gotten better:
[https://twitter.com/DinaPomeranz/status/933409395278573569?s...](https://twitter.com/DinaPomeranz/status/933409395278573569?s=20)

~~~
riffraff
I can suggest you reading "factfulnes", by the late Hans Rosling.

It's a good book on how to approach the world, and much like his talks, it
really pushes the idea that our world, though flawed, is often much better
than we think it is.

------
RickJWagner
I'm thankful to live in the greatest time yet. I'm grateful for all the
opportunities for myself and my family, and for the current social/political
environment. (Historically, it is peaceful and prosperous.) I'm thankful for
my family and friends. I'm thankful for everything I've been given.

------
tjpnz
For having parents who saw the value of having a higher education despite
never having been to university themselves. For actually having to work for
everything I have and the fulfillment it brings knowing I'm where I am today
purely through my own actions, not through the wealth or connections of well
off parents.

------
nikolahorvat
I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be grateful (I am alive!). Every
morning, as part of my hygiene, I figure out something I am grateful for. It
could be something from day before or anything, I just don't want to repeat
and there for be creative! But it help raise awareness not to live life for
granted.

~~~
riffraff
I used to do that every night. It's easy to look back and see that even in a
shitty day there are things you should be happy for.

Somehow, I stopped. Doing it in the morning seems a good idea to start again.

~~~
nikolahorvat
Even better, if you meditate, start your session with gratitude!

------
Fellshard
I am thankful for close family; an opportunity to work on a project 'the right
way' and learn lessons the hard way without extreme risk; a sound church with
faithful and caring teachers; and dear friends that have meant and continue to
mean the world to me through some very difficult times.

------
victorpascu
I'm thankful that I was lucky enough to be exposed to computers at the very
young age of 6. Until I became around 11 or 12 years of age, most people only
had routine access to them when working government or highly technical jobs
(Eastern Europe in the 2000s), so I am aware it was a very kind gift from my
parents.

They actually worried that I spent so much time playing video games afterward,
but games taught me English, made me competitive for the first time, gave me a
few tips on empathy, and helped me develop a passion for solving problems and
understanding systems, which I tried to use to make my own games, which
ultimately led me to pursue a career as an engineer (which eventually led me
to HN, and eventually to this post. Ha!)

------
ratsimihah
[1] Familiy, friends, [2] opportunities, [3] yoga + life.

[1] Grateful to always have been provided with anything I needed, wanted,
didn't need, didn't want. While it's obviously a huge bonus, it tends to shut
off survival instinct, forcing you to find the motivation and grit to keep
growing despite the comfort. A nice problem to have.

[2] As most pointed out, grateful that sotware development become one of the
most well-paid hobbies ever.

[3] Grateful to have found yoga 4/5 years ago, which helped not only with
physical wealth but also mental wealth. It helps you find gratefulness
everywhere, and helps you deal with most issues by generally associating them
to your ego and thus making it easier to let them go.

------
maestrokuro
My family seriously struggled with cash when I was younger. Naturally, I never
had any of the expensive toys that were all the rage with my peers. What I did
have was books. My dad would go to a second-hand book store every day and pick
out books that he thought I'd like. My dad couldn't read English very well, so
I ended up getting a bunch of books that were definitely not intended for my
age bracket - encyclopaedias, novels, textbooks (including a massive textbook
on American law that I still have, despite the fact that I live in the UK) and
so on. Everything good about me as a person is a direct result of what my dad
did for me back then.

------
wting
I'm thankful for Hacker News and its community.

I am successful largely in part because of the community and its discourse. I
was introduced to the growth mentality when browsing this site back in 2010,
and astonished by how open and humble people approached their failures.

This resonated with a lot of my personal struggles. However taking on a growth
mindset put me on the right course and helped me take on increasingly larger
scope and responsibilities at work, and also improved my relationships with
family and friends.

Fortunately I'm now in a position where I can help shape culture, and pushing
for learning and open mindedness has been an underlying principle for many of
my actions.

------
santa_boy
I'm thankful for my daughter and mother. And humanity (the average tends to be
skewed on the positive side .. disclaimer ... i have required help very
occasionally but have been pleasantly surprised .... i try to pay it forward
nowadays).

------
throwaway8879
Thankful for still breathing. It didn't seem like a possibility just a few
years ago.

------
Aeolun
I’m thankful that I have a fantastic little boy, who’s growing up healthy and
happy.

Before I had one I just couldn’t imagine how much joy a child can bring to
your life (and pain, and stress, and a lot of other bad things, but it’s _all_
worth it).

------
arminiusreturns
I am thankful I made it through the war with my body and mind mostly intact,
and that it spurred me to seek the truth no matter how ugly. I am thankful I
have a family and friends who love me despite my antics. I am thankful that
people like RMS and Torvalds and many others saw the incoming desire of
corporations to own our computing lives and they fought against it, and the
many people who continue that fight to this day. I am thankful I live in a
first world country with running water, a roof over my head, and food to eat.
I'm thankful to live in America where I have rights that many other countries
don't.

------
mbillie1
I am incredibly thankful for my wife, my job, my family, my privileged
upbringing, my pets, the tech industry in general (even though I am
contemptuous towards it at times) and most immediately a warm safe place to
sleep.

------
janee
I'm thankful for all the mentors I've had over the years. Not just teaching
and taking the time to explain until I understand, but also providing good
examples how to handle bad situations and treat people.

------
johnwheeler
I’m thankful for this life experience and everything in it. Out of all the
lifeforms on earth, I won the lottery by being born a human during a time of
relative peace and in a place with high GDP per capita.

------
adventured
I'm thankful for each day that I get to work on the things that I enjoy and
get to learn new things that I find interesting.

I'm also thankful for HN. I've been coming here for about a decade. It's one
of the few sites or communities I've visited for such a long period of time
consistently going back to the early to mid 1990s. The relatively consistent,
persistent moderation is a big part of why it still works so well after all
this time, so a thanks to the mods as well.

Good fortune to everyone here in the year ahead.

------
Niksko
I'm also thankful that I get paid a lot to do what I love. I think I'm good at
what I do, but I'm no better or more passionate than a lot of my friends in
other industries (particularly the arts) whose livelihood is based far more on
luck and the whims of others than mine is.

I'm also thankful to be able to work with passionate, enthusiastic graduates
as part of my day job. Seeing them learn, grow and progress into great
developers is incredibly rewarding - much more so than the rest of my work.

------
shpx
The people that fought and manned the factories in World War II.

------
koopuluri
I'm currently at home visiting family. I'm grateful for how much love we have
at home for each other and for how supportive my parents have been my entire
life.

------
dm3730
I am thankful to people who share their insightful viewpoints which in many
cases have been significantly different than mine and led to me changing my
opinion on issues.

------
sizzle
I'm thankful for my dad who survived a massive hemorrhagic stroke to be here
today and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. He is recovering slowly but surely
:)

------
adityapurwa
For everything ~ The events had that happened to me, the people that I had in
life, is like a bunch of neural network that made me what I am now. It doesn’t
have to be always positive, a negative weight is also the reason my life
points to what it is now.

Not to say my life is perfect, but with the flaws I had, people still cared
about me.

Thank you my family, friends, enemies - everyone. One can’t be grateful to God
until one be thankful for the kindness of others.

------
waylandsmithers
That my company was acquired, but with a twist:

I wasn't an early enough employee to have any significant equity or options,
although I did receive a four-figure payout, so not nothing. The new parent
company eventually eroded everything we loved about the work and culture,
which gave me the push I needed to find a higher paying job with a much better
environment and overall working conditions.

------
anonu
Thank you for this post! Reading through people's comments, the common
denominator seems to be health.

I've been "burning the candle at both ends" recently. Very conscious that a
healthy body and healthy mind require balance between work and family and
play.

So I'm thankful for my health as well and I'm looking forward to more balance
in my life going forward.

------
shabirgilkar
I'm thankful to my God who has bestowed love in the heart of my parents,
siblings, relatives and friends because of which I'm what I'm today. Their
compassion, support, up bringing and timely suggestions/warnings etc.

I'm thankful to them all!

"If one is not thankful to people around him, he can't be thankful to his God"

So thank you everyone.

------
jacobush
I am thankful I am not as fearful any longer of what people think about me,
nor as anxious about the future, even though a lot of my circumstances are
such that I would have worried myself silly a couple of years ago. I am
thankful for the people who want to be part of my life.

There was a lot of pain before I reached this point. Maybe it's the only way.

------
Havoc
The stability my job provides me. Pays about twice what I need & that gap
provides a lot of options & peace of mind.

------
drakonka
I am thankful for my family having gotten the opportunity to move to the US
from a post-Soviet country when I was young.

------
egdod
A happy, healthy daughter. A son on the way.

------
meiraleal
Contrary to most here, I'm thankful for being raised in a country/culture that
happiness comes before economic accomplishments. And also for having found my
way on Software development and land remote jobs working for richer countries.
That provides me with the best of both worlds (1 & 3).

------
rglover
I'm thankful for getting the opportunity to do all of this tech stuff. When
you're caught up in it, you can forget that a lot of people don't get to do
stuff like this—really grateful for every day and every opportunity and that
it's lasted as long as it has. It's a real blessing.

------
boardwaalk
I'm thankful for being entirely healthy in U.S. And I'm thankful for having
the income/savings/lack of baggage to have a lot of options in life --
regardless of whether or when I take them. I'm thankful that life hasn't been
"eventful" unless I want it to be.

------
phamjamstudio
Health, safety, loving family & community.

An 11 and 14 year old were both recently murdered (probably gang related) at
the school our church partners with. We've helped beautify the school, donated
bikes, glasses, school materials, other basic needs to the underprivileged.

Was quite painful for the community and myself.

------
chx
I'm thankful for being able to reconcile with the Drupal community. Many days
are still sad but they are not empty any more even if I am not Drupal'ing day
and night as before. Diminished as is, it's still a lot, lot better being able
to participate than not.

------
invinciblycool
Apart from all before mentioned stuff, I am hugely thankful for FOSS. It's
kinda hard to imagine the current software landscape without the existence of
FOSS and open source contributors.

FOSS is awesome :)

------
rs23296008n1
Being able to wind my clock each day.

------
ssklash
I am thankful for Free Software, and for all that it has made possible for me
and so many others.

------
sp527
After struggling with a disabling fatiguing illness for 10 years and thinking
it was incurable, I was just diagnosed with a rare sleep disorder and am
awaiting corrective surgery. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish with a
normal energy profile.

------
alainchabat
So grateful for working remotely from anywhere, in average 5 hours a day, and
making 6 figures

------
clashmeifyoucan
I'm honestly trying to think of cool stuff that happened to me this year, and
while there is some, the crappy stuff outweighs all that.

I'm probably thankful for some self-discovery I did this year. Turns out I'm
not really socially awkward after all.

------
l0b0
I'm thankful for being born to free universal health care and education,
fantastic nature, and people who try to preserve these. And for people
everywhere who do what they can to bring these to as many of us as possible.

------
riffraff
I have been lucky compared to many most of my life, and I am always thankful
for that.

But my 3yo son was diagnosed epilepsy some months ago.

It now seems medicines are effective at keeping him ok and there is a chance
he may outgrow it.

I am deeply thankful for that.

------
hanumanthan
Thankful for living in a peaceful country. Thankful for a loving wife and a
daughter and aged yet active parents. Thankful for a life where I dont have to
struggle for my basic physiological needs and safety needs

------
lbj
Im thankful for Clojure, without which I would be 75% less effective. Im
thankful for all of you guys, who open source cool libs every month, letting
me learn and latch on much faster than I could do otherwise.

------
mtreis86
I am thankful there is so much great work out there to be inspired by.

------
kome
I am thankful for the Free software movement, they continue to do the right
thing - since years.

So that we don't have be thankful to people or companies, because software is
our right!

------
nej
I’m thankful to come to work every day and appreciate my coworkers and those
around me. I feel like without those smart and good folks life would be a lot
more difficult.

------
gto16108
I’m thankful for all the fateful situations that have led to my humility and
happiness.

Without them, I might have thought I was someone else. I might have never
truly defined myself.

------
johnny313
My wife, 3 kids, and a loving community of friends. Sometimes hard to remember
how important these people are during the ups and downs of regular life.

------
vindaloop
I'm thankful for today. For laughter and company.

------
lawrenceyan
I'm thankful for my health, my parent's health, and my education/work.
Hopefully 2020 will be even better than 2019!

------
11235813213455
I'm thankful for really basic things: nature, providing all kind of fruits
(there are a few figs, soft persimmons in the wild or gardens here, taste is
truly amazing), herbs, berries, legumes, honey, fish, .. as well as oxygen, or
just for the shade of a tree while riding in summer

and not thankful for what threatens this beauty and happiness, obviously
pollution, people excessive footprint, consumerism lifestyles. It makes things
incredibly harder for nature to catch up

------
erlag
4 days ago passed 10 years without alcohol for me. I'm thankful for all the
opportunities I had thanks to that period.

------
rbreve
For being healthy. If you're healthy you can do anything. You start to
appreciate that when you get sick.

------
laurieg
Putting on a clean pair of socks and shoes that fit.

It might not seem like much but it's something I appreciate every day.

------
carlmungz
For being alive. I thank God for the gift of life because it is not something
to be taken for granted.

------
mc3
That they created an entire industry out of what I did for fun as a kid, and
now I get paid to do it.

------
techsin101
Healthy recovery of my close relative

------
naveen_
I'm thankful for Hacker News!

------
wetpaws
That I have eyes and my hands and my sanity and my family. Honestly that's
enough.

------
muse900
I am thankful for being healthy and for others around me being healthy too so
far.

------
parski
I'm ashamed for depleting this planet of it's natural resources to make myself
feel better. The worst part is that I'm not stopping, I keep buying new things
that are marginally better than what I'm replacing. It's hard to abstain. I'm
a really shitty person.

~~~
bil7
i don't think you should beat yourself up like this. The fact you are aware
means you will consciously or subconsciously make better choices

------
verumn
Having an incredibly privileged up bringing, but my parents never spoiling me.

------
Exuma
Work wise, my business partner. Other-wise my love, pets, family and friends.

------
k__
I'm thankful for all my partners, without them I couldn't do it.

------
timwaagh
I'm thankful for white privilege. I'm thankful for Airbnb and rising rents.
I'm thankful some women go hungry. And I'm thankful for suboptimal hiring
practices.

Is it wrong to be thankful for the things that help you even if they are not
exactly good?

~~~
munmaek
I believe the relevant quote is “You’re not wrong, you’re just an asshole”.

Better to keep some opinions to yourself, I think.

------
Yvonne_McQ
I'm thankful for my life with a lot awesome people in it!

------
chdaniel
Frankly, I'm just thankful for this post and the comments here

------
dillonmckay
Electricity, hot water, clean water, refrigeration technology.

------
exabrial
Health. Family. Emoloyment. Freedom.

Cliche, but truly blessed by these things.

------
zharellamar
I'm thankful for my live, I can see all wonders today.

------
gao8a
My family, my health, and therefore, my wealth :)

------
taksintikk
Thankful to be alive and aware.

------
Yhippa
I'm just happy to be here.

------
cvaidya1986
Life

------
iyw
My online gaming community

------
trumbitta2
My kid. A daily blessing.

------
asmbaty
I am happy for you all!

------
OrgNet
being healthy is the most important thing.

------
steele
son

------
hestipod
Nothing. All the conventional things, the things people are posting here
repeatedly. I don't have. I either never had them like truly loving family, or
they were taken from me like health and security. There were a handful of
wonderful people but they are all gone while the shit ones thrive. There was a
career helping others and making the world a better place, but that was taken
too. Even the one thing I actually care about anymore, my cat, is a double
edged sword because she has brought me much joy, and I have done my best for
her, but I cannot give her the future she deserves because I cannot even
survive my own. I can only hope the people in my life who never do the right
thing will this time do the right thing by her and my legal directives. None
of it was worth the 95% of my life that was pain and misery. The only good
thing is that it will end soon...and that's just bittersweet rather than some
comfort. It was all a great disappointment...people mostly so.

~~~
christiansakai
Last night I actually just binge watching Youtube and Youtube sent me to that
side of Youtube, where I gradually progress from watching something about
instagram reality, then people being ugly living in society, abandoned by
parents and families, and then....to people with crazy incurable debilitating
diseases and disabilities such as conjoined twins on head, torso, people
having burns all over the body literally looked like a living zombie, people
with bended bones all over the place, people with no limbs, people with extra
skins that made them looked like elephants, people born without eyes, people
with flesh eating diseases, people with upside down head due to backbone
disease, and a lot of these people are kids....

and yet they are still fighting daily, encouraging us, who are luckier than
them, to not give up. I felt sad, but at the same time really encouraged and
thankful. I hope all of them will find love and peace in spite of their
conditions

~~~
hestipod
Yeah I am one of those people in many of the ways you have listed so the "we
should appreciate how lucky we are" thing doesn't really apply to me. I am not
lucky. I was disfigured, disabled, left in severe pain. I do not have a loving
family or social support. I lost everything I worked hard for. That's the
entire problem...there is no hope or help or luck. I am really an idiot for
ever speaking about this because it's always those sort of scripts, or
criticism, or hopes and prayers...the one thing that would help people who
have it this bad...time and money...aren't something people are willing to
spend. I need to stop expressing myself at all because the same old same old
is just upsetting. Desperation makes you a fool and causes you to beat your
head against the walls closing in on you even though all it does it make it
hurt more.

------
roberson87
I am thankful for being born white.

~~~
arcboii92
Being born brown, I'm thankful for my white names that get me into interviews
where I can prove I'm a good developer.

~~~
roberson87
Some of my non-white friends who haven't been blessed with forward-thinking
parents such as yours, who give their children civilized names nonetheless use
Western names on their resume when job seeking. So I don't think having a
government 'white name' is all the beneficiary for job seeking purposes.

~~~
throwaway010718
Same here, legally changed my name at 10 years of age knowing that a whiter
name would give me a better shot in life. One of the best decisions I made.

------
quantumfoam
I'm thankful for not having to witness the slaughter of natives.

------
tomcooks
These reddit-like feelgood threads have, IN MY OPINION, very little to do with
HN, hackers, programming and whatever.

Moreover, they feel very US centric.

Off to a downvote shower ciao

~~~
eeZah7Ux
Thank _you_ for this. It's very religious, very US-centric and indeed off-
topic.

~~~
op00to
How is it religious? It's scientific: "[...] young adults assigned to keep
gratitude journals showed greater increases in determination, attention,
enthusiasm, and energy compared to the other groups". Humans have a known and
scientifically proven innate negative bias. In other words, negative
experiences and feelings are felt stronger than positive ones. Being mindful
and intentional about appreciating the good things in your life trains your
mind to balance the negative bias. [1]

[1]
[https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/images/application_uploads/...](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/images/application_uploads/Emmons-
CountingBlessings.pdf)

------
akadeb
I'm thankful for these gainz

------
HNLurker2
I'm thankful I'm not born in USA

~~~
dang
Please keep nationalistic flamebait far away from this site. We don't want it,
or what it leads to.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

Edit: since you've mostly been posting unsubstantive comments and/or breaking
the site guidelines, I've banned this account again. If you don't want to be
banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to
believe that you'll follow the rules in the future.

Abusing HN like that will eventually get your main account banned as well, so
please don't.

~~~
eeZah7Ux
This should apply to the whole thread rather than that comment.

~~~
dang
"What are you thankful for?" is not nationalistic flamebait, or flamebait at
all.

