Ask HN: What are you thankful for? - jaboutboul
======
rayalez
I am incredibly thankful for the internet, and to all the people who have
created and shared videos and wrote books that helped to pull me out of the
deep dark hole of ignorance/hopelessness/depression.

I come from a pretty dark environment, and I can't count the times when the
access to the internet and information created by brilliant people have
literally saved my life. And, perhaps more importantly, made it worth living.

I am thankful for Owen Cook, Paul Graham, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Ayn Rand, Dan
Harmon, Randall Munroe, Louis CK, and countless other brilliant and bright
people. They are my heroes, they have created things that inspired me, and
taught me about the world, and brought a lot of joy into my life.

\----

I am also very thankful for the fact that I have discovered 3D graphics at a
very early age. It showed me what it feels like to be extremely passionate
about something, and how awesome and fun it can be to create things. It taught
me to think and to learn things and to care about my craft, and to pursue
mastery at what I do. It drove me to learn English language and, ultimately,
opened to me the world of everything else that I love and care about.

~~~
ue_
Out of interest, what about Ayn Rand's writing in particular, or what themes,
were appealing to you? If you do not mind saying, of course. It's a good list
of people.

~~~
rayalez
She showed me how to think well. She is amazing at writing in a clear, precise
way that demonstrates the thinking process of a rational person.

She taught me to face reality and deal with it rationally, instead of
flinching away from it and trying to ignore/rationalize things. To solve
problems by thinking about things deeply, determining the best course of
action, and then pursuing it. To think for myself, from the first principles,
to rely on my own judgement, to have the courage to believe in what makes
sense to me. To take responsibility for my life(for my choices and their
results).

She taught me about determining my values and optimizing for them, choosing a
purpose and pursuing it, stepping on a path to mastery and striving to become
an expert at what I do.

She inspired my interest in engineering, science, entrepreneurship,
rationality.

Her heroes(Dagny, Hank Rearden) gave me a vision for the kind of person I want
to be.

The massive impact Atlas Shrugged had on my life, and the amazing quality of
her writing, made me want to become a good writer.

------
hkmurakami
My health, after having been hit by a car while cycling (airlifted to Stanford
Hospital back in 2013), and having gone through depression several times in my
life which could have taken bad turns.

My family, who was supportive of me quitting my first job from stress and
depression and gave me the time to recover.

My childhood friends, who all grew up in SV together and still remain close
friends (just went on a morning hike together on Thanksgiving day). We
definitely keep each other sane amidst the insanity, anxiety, and
hypercompetitiveness of modern SV.

My social situation, which spares me from the fear that many peers feel
regarding the upcoming presidency and the emboldened vitriol of the hateful.

------
RickS
I'm thankful for the luck of the industry.

I use futureme.org to write diaries to my future self, and when I went into
college after dropping out of high school, I wrote one that said I'd drop out
of college too if a job were to offer me 40k/yr.

4 years later I graduated and moved to SF for 140k, and it didn't stop there.

I wish I could say I knew it would go this way, and was destined for
greatness, yadda yadda, but I was as surprised as anybody.

The thing I was passionate about happened to explode into a darling of
basically every company.

I'm thankful I was in the right place at the right time.

------
Esau
I am thankful for my wife, who loves me.

I am thankful that both of my daughters are healthy and smart young women.

I am thankful for the AT&T team who created UNIX.

I am thankful for the programmers who work on the Linux, GNU, *BSD, Plan 9,
and FreeDOS operating systems.

I am thankful to all the programmers who make free software possible.

I am thankful for the ACLU, the EFF, the CBLDF, and the NRA.

I am thankful to Edward Snowden for revealing that our government has been
breaking the law.

I am thankful that there are things like Pinboard and Tarsnap out there, where
building something good is the goal.

I am grateful for Project Gutenberg, Wikipedia, Hacker News, and Lobste.rs;
all for providing me interesting things to read.

------
tvanantwerp
I'm most thankful for my wife. I don't think I'd have it in me to work as hard
as I have if it weren't for her. I know she's always got my back, no matter
what.

~~~
bebop
Here here! Also thankful for my wife and family.

------
olalonde
Thankful to have a passport which allows me to travel almost anywhere
(probably the most overlooked advantage of being born in a first world
country).

------
JonRB
I'm incredibly thankful for my education. I've had the privilege of being
relatively well educated and looking back I am incredibly grateful that my
parents were both willing and able to put me through decent schools.

------
tomcam
Being alive. Being an American. Kids being alive and delightful. Having a
Constitution, one protected by a brave, dedicated volunteer force. Health.
Hacker News. The opportunity to work for Microsoft a couple decades ago.
Fantastic coworkers. JavaScript, web2py, golang. Fender guitars. Owning our
home and being debt free. Surviving childhood beatings.

------
jaboutboul
Literally thankful to be alive.

------
chairmankaga
I'm very thankful to have quit my job to travel and freelance 8 months ago.

It wasn't all pretty but I have grown and challenged myself in many ways that
I otherwise would not have been able to!

I'd be glad to discuss with anyone interested in doing the same either over a
Tokyo beer or email (:

~~~
soulchild37
I am interested to go Tokyo (maybe work there), whats your email address?

------
NumberCruncher
I am thankful for living in the "information age" and for the effort of the
people making it reality.

Once I spent my holiday trakking in Turkey and was reading HN during a pause
on a mountain. I stumbled upon the link
[https://sivers.org/book](https://sivers.org/book). I used my kindle to by
some books about stoism and read them on my jurney. In English, which I mainly
practice on online forums. I came back home with a different view of life. Now
I know that happines is not measured in the PS of my car, the area of my flat,
my bank balance or the jealousy of neighbours. OK, a high bank balance is
still a fine thing but I stopped caring about the rest. And I become a better
person.

This couldn't have happened without the "information age" being reality.

------
quickConclusion
I am thankful for my elders and felllow citizens to provide for free
education, free healthcare, and retirement for all.

My turn.

------
vowelless
Incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have moved to the US 10 years ago.
It's not a perfect country -- but there is no other place I like to call home
today.

~~~
doweig
That's heartwarming. Can I ask where are you coming from originally?

------
raisedadead
I am thankful to Tim Berners-Lee.

I am thankful for being born in this era.

I am thankful to everyone who is in Open Source.

I am thankful for your time reading this.

------
drakonka
I am thankful for my cats and my partner. I'm thankful for the very faint hope
that I might get to see Mars in person one day. I'm thankful for the fact that
we care about AI and are making progress in that field. I'm thankful that I
was born lucky, into a middle class family who moved from a post-Soviet
country to the U.S. and gave me opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had.
I'm thankful that I lucked into some good genes.

------
loblollyboy
Modern dentistry

------
pmyjavec
Air to breathe, water to drink, sunshine and my family.

------
ImTalking
I am thankful for my life.

I am thankful for my kids who think of me as their 'rock'.

I am thankful for my relationships and experiences.

I am thankful that I have Asperger's and think logically about everything.

I am thankful that I live in the age of information, which will (hopefully)
make the world a better place.

------
keithnz
I'm thankful for living in the most prosperous country in the world.
[http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-
mo...](http://www.li.com/about/press-releases/new-zealand-is-the-most-
prosperous-country-in-the-world)

and I'm thankful for living in the country with the most liberty!
[http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-
research/2016/5/24/2016-st...](http://patrickrhamey.com/saturday-
research/2016/5/24/2016-state-of-world-liberty-index)

~~~
cconcepts
When you're from NZ, no one is desperate to kill you or trade with you. Its a
double-edged sword.

------
nstart
My job at buffer. It rescued me from a job which left me sad most days (mostly
a difference in cultures there. The people were fine). And did so just in time
for our child being born (4 days ahead to be precise). Thanks to that I now
work from home, alongside my little one and wife, both whom I absolutely love,
and I've been fortunate to witness every single "first" of my son's. All while
working on things I love with amazingly supportive people. When I'm older I'll
probably look back on this part of my life with the hashtag #HappinessIs :)

------
yousifa
I'm thankful that I don't have to worry about my surivival and the survival of
my family and friends. Too many people around the world have reasonable doubt
that they will survive to tomorrow or if they will have another meal.

I'm thankful for my friends and family who's support I couldn't do without.

I'm thankful for all of the strangers and community members that have helped
me along the way, asking nothing in return. I hope I can do the same for many
others.

I'm thankful for all of the great people who stand up for others and do good
when they have nothing to gain.

------
du_bing
I am most thankful for my family, my parents, my brother.

------
rezashirazian
StackOverflow. The website, not the error of course.

~~~
diegoperini
I'm thankful to both.

------
ascotan
God, country and family. Maybe also for computers :9

------
rjammala
The Go programming language.

~~~
tuxlinuxien
Couldn't agree more!

------
samblr
Dad : For his perseverance and patience which saw us through many struggles to
get us an education. His words : things learnt stay learnt - no forces can
steal them from you echo strongly now.

Internet and programming: opportunities and possibilities that it provides is
unprecedented.

------
kearneyandy
I'm so thankful I work in an industry with high enough demand that I can have
a job I love

------
doweig
The new MacBook Pro

------
woodruffw
I heard this one over the dinner table tonight, but rule of law.

------
SunShiranui
I'm thankful for everyone that decided to contribute to the world by sharing
information freely, be it knowledge, software, entertainment...

Those are my heroes, small and big.

------
aianus
I am extremely thankful to speak English as a first language.

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ud0
I am thankful for the internet and all the opportunities it has provided me.

------
vuyani
Im thankful I have the ability to exercise critical thinking.

------
blubb-fish
after watching "trans fatty lives" I am thankful for not being challenged by
anything even remotely as severe as ALS.

------
1337biz
For all the Trolls keeping theinternet

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botw
I am thankful to be alive.

------
NoCanDo
Licorice

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max_
Python

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mcs_
For smart questions

