
Ask HN: What are you thankful for? - wallflower
Thanks dang and team for taking care of the HN community!<p>Many years ago, I stumbled upon HN. I just lurked. Then one day I posted a comment.<p>I am thankful for HN because many years ago it provided a community for someone who was desperately seeking social interaction during my very boring corporate job workday. It was my water cooler. It still is even though as it has grown in popularity, it is almost like a meme for some people to say &#x27;Don&#x27;t read HN&#x27; because they maybe read one divisive thread once or only read divisive threads and thus see it as a monoculture...
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askafriend
1\. I can go into a grocery store and buy whatever I want without once
thinking about the price of something or the total bill. It's an incredible
privilege - one that I hadn't really thought about much until recently - but
now I can't stop thinking how thankful I am for it.

2\. I can go home to my parent's house whenever I want and I'm lucky to have
supportive, loving parents and an extended family that openly supports me when
I need it. We have our problems, but at the end of the day - I have a place to
stay and food to eat even in my darkest moments.

3\. A promising career in Silicon Valley and a great manager with whom I share
a deep sense of mutual respect and friendship with. I know how rare this is,
and because of that - I'm thankful.

A lot of work went into making this happen from a lot of different people over
the years...so I'm actually really deeply thankful because this could have
played out very differently.

Growing up, my family was lower-middle class, immigrant, and moved around _a
lot_ because of instability in finances and my father's job was so uncertain
that it could be axed on short notice among other reasons. I was a child for
the early parts of the journey so only my parents can speak to the brutal pain
of trying to start over in a brand new country that barely accepted them for
who they are along with the burden of raising their first child. Not only
that, but they started over with few resources - maybe the clothes on their
back, a couple hundred bucks in their pocket and a few phone numbers to call
if they were really in trouble. They/We did not have it easy by any stretch of
the imagination and my parents themselves come from relative poverty where
things like access to food, electricity, clean water and education was a real
issue. We've come a long way and I'm both proud and thankful for that.

This only scratches the surface of the immigrant experience in America but I
think it's highly relevant, especially during Thanksgiving and all the history
imbued in the holiday.

~~~
code_duck
I would suggest adding something to your first one: you can successfully eat
whatever you purchase.

I have celiac and serious food allergies, as well as an esophageal disorder. I
also can’t digest milk or eggs properly. When I go to the grocery store, I
walk around pretty much laughing to myself about how I literally cannot eat
almost anything there. For Thanksgiving, I am having plain beef roast in a
blender (well, sea salt) and specific potato chips. And cider - I mean, it’s
not all bad.

It’s easy to take health for granted, but it’s amazing how much it can screw
up your life when one part of your body isn’t working.

~~~
ascherj
I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I am recovering from a similar
situation in which my heath was so compromised that I struggled to digest and
assimilate practically whatever I ate. I can relate to how alienating and
debilitating it can be to have chronic illness consume most of your thinking
and how severely it can impact all areas of your life. It is so easy to take
our health and bodies for granted. I try imbue every moment with this
awareness and cultivate gratitude for everything I have. I hope you're able to
find support and strength as you manage your condition.

------
abdussamit
Growing up, I used to disagree with how my parents used to think about things,
and I also used to call them out (maybe I kept that in my heart mostly out of
respect) whenever they did something wrong. That was because I never perhaps
knew how some parents were?

Because as I grew, went to high-school and then at job, I saw people who had
an abusive father, a drug-addict sibling, or a controlling mother. And now, I
realise how difficult it must have been for my parents to show us the best
version of themselves e.g. my mother cooks food, takes care of us and my
father worked in Libya for 30 years as a software engineer away from us only
to supply us financially. It must never have been easy.

I'm not saying they're perfect, God no one is. But the fact that I can see at
my parents as a moral compass for myself whenever I get stuck helps me a lot.
Some of you who read might not be religious but I'm thankful that my parents
gave us the right knowledge of religion and not just giving knowledge but
telling us about the 'why'.

My father has told me two things his entire life: 1\. do your best effort at
opportunities (I don't mind if you fail as long as you work hard) 2\. don't
cheat your way to success

So, yeah, I'm sorry if this seems irrelevant but just wanted to share my side
of the story about why I'm thankful.

~~~
dbancajas
yeah man. I am a parent right now and I can't even think of leaving my kids to
work in another country full time w/o my family.

------
superasn
I'm thankful for getting cured of my chronic back pain of 10+ years just
because of one HN comment (1). I was at a point in my life where my whole life
used to revolve around my pain but thanks to this one comment I was cured of
this terrible misery in just less than a month. So thank you HN and thank you
@ceras for making my life so much better.

P.S I'm happy to say that propogating that knowledge had that exact same
effect for another HNer who was also suffering from the same fate (actually he
was contemplating suicide by his own comment and he too was healed like me(2).

(1)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17899799](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17899799)

(2)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18151061](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18151061)

~~~
mikekchar
Very interesting. For about the past 2 years, I've been suffering from
mysterious symptoms that seem to have no physical origin. My doctors have
suggested that it's "in my head" or "stress related illness" and I'm
completely open to that idea (in fact I welcome it). However, the biggest
problem I've had is, "Where the heck do I go from there?" If it's all in my
head, how do I get it out of my head?

I'm definitely going to give this book a read. I am thankful for your
suggestion :-)

P.S. I hesitate to mention this, but my wife belongs to some weird religious
group here in Japan. They believe in spiritual healing. For this kind of
problem it seems really ideal. Unfortunately for me, it's completely
ineffective because I just can't take it seriously. She's always frustrated
because she can't heal my problems, even though I should be an ideal
candidate. Going through the problems I've had has completely changed my
attitude toward the potential benefits so called spiritual things. On the one
hand I have doctors saying, "It's all in your head, so you can't be cured" and
on the other I get "It's all in your head, so praise the divine being and all
will be cured". It would be tempting if I could ever stomach that kind of
thing.

~~~
ryacko
I recommend reading what Mark Twain’s experiences with Christian Science was.
(Which was that everything is imaginary?)

[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3187](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3187)

~~~
mikekchar
Well, I think his book very clearly spells out the other problems with those
kinds of organisations. :-) Definitely not my thing, but I have a more nuanced
view of things these days.

~~~
ryacko
Long-term outcomes with many modern medicines are negative compared to that of
a placebo.

------
nemo1618
I'm thankful for my parents. Growing up, I thought that my parents were
needlessly strict and uncool and that all my friends had it better than me.
Only once I was old enough to look at other parents from an adult perspective
did I realize how...well, _competent_ my own parents had been, compared to
most. Turns out there are a lot of ways to screw up parenting. Many of my
friends' parents divorced, others just quietly resented each other; some were
too permissive, others were "helicopters;" some were too distant, others tried
to be their kid's best friend; and of course, some were outright abusive. The
older I get, the clearer it is to me that these parents were just "older
teenagers," not true adults. In that regard, my parents really had their shit
together (and still do), and I benefited from that enormously. Thanks mom and
dad.

~~~
martinot56
Did you get to tell them that?

~~~
nemo1618
I have expressed it to them a few times now, yes. :)

------
Daido_M
I am thankful for Hacker News. Never before have I come across a community
that is as insightful, friendly, and helpful. Thank you, everyone, for making
Hacker News the place it is today.

~~~
TulliusCicero
Agreed, and they have very strict modding to thank for it. Sometimes I think
it's too strict, but you can't argue with the results.

~~~
abraae
HN modding is certainly the driving force in maintaining civil discourse on
the site.

In my more out there moments I imagine the internet moving more towards this
model. Lots of interesting places, owned by deeply involved individuals who
enforce courtesy and truth telling. Personally I love to read opinions that
are different from mine, as long as the two points above are met.

~~~
Cyph0n
I’d like to personally call out u/dang, HN’s omnipresent moderator. Keep up
the amazing work!

------
mindcrime
1\. Just being alive, for starters. Just a hair over four years ago I had a
heart attack[1] and very easily could have died.

2\. My parents, and friends and family. Guess that one is so obvious as to not
really need to be said, but just to be complete.

3\. All the amazing knowledge that's available, mostly for free, on the
Internet. Youtube, videolectures.net, arxiv.org, khan academy, HN, Wikipedia,
sci-hub, ligben, and so many other great resources for learning.

4\. Open source and all the various OSS contributors out there.

5\. Coffee, key-lime pie, and cheesecake.

6\. Thai food.

7\. Heavy metal. Especially the first "wave" of bands that sucked me in all
those years ago: Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Black Sabbath, Van
Halen, AC/DC, Quiet Riot, etc.

8\. All of my brothers and sisters in the fire-service, all over the world,
who are out there putting their lives on the line to protect others. I'm not
active with a fire department these days, but it's a brotherhood you never
really quit.

[1]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8550315](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8550315)

------
yesbabyyes
Coming on two years ago, I celebrated New Years Eve in the amazingly beautiful
beach town of Robertsport, Liberia. I never used to do those vows, but at this
time I decided I wanted to be more grateful. So I vowed to be more grateful.
This English bloke was there with me, and he reminded me that if I just vowed
it like that, I would soon forget it. I had to somehow make it my habit.

So I decided every morning when I put on my necklace I would remind myself to
be grateful for something this day. And I have, every single day! Usually, I
will be grateful that I am healthy, that I have a wife who cares about, and
for, me, family members, some good friends, a job and good food every day.

Today, I am grateful to George, the Englishman, who helped me start this
habit. It is very good to be grateful.

------
russellhealy
I am so thankful that I know the meaning of my human life. I have a human
spirit, which I can exercise to contact God. I don't know how I would live
without this. All of the money and all of the experiences on earth are
temporary, and in the end meaningless. Anything temporary compared to eternity
is meaningless. Eternity is not only before us in time, but God has put
eternity in our heart, and only God can fill that gap. I'm so thankful that my
God-shaped gap is filled. Not preaching, just genuinely thankful!

~~~
badcede
Eternity is now.

~~~
russellhealy
Yep, and it won't end.

------
clubm8
Wikipedia. So often I get curious about something and it's documented in
detail, with hyperlinks to related concepts. What would have taken an
afternoon at the library in the 90s I can get in a 20 minute Wikpedia binge.

------
zentiggr
I am thankful that something distracted me in the few seconds it took me to
start making a left turn, and slowed me down enough that the semi that ran the
red light missed my car by a couple of feet instead of ripping the car apart
and killing me Monday afternoon. I'm trying not to be cliche about it, but my
priorities are a bit clearer now.

~~~
smudgymcscmudge
I’m thankful for automotive safety that saved my daughter’s life when she ran
into a traffic light pole at 60MPH yesterday. I’m replying to your comment
because her accident was caused by somebody turning left a second or two too
early.

My girl was driving a Kia Soul. It’s not an expensive car, but it’s still safe
enough that she and her passenger will only experience a week or two of
soreness. If I had the same accident in my first car, a 77 Corolla,I would
probably have died.

------
spiderfarmer
With regards to HN: I'm thankful for HN being an example where the comments
are often really insightful, useful and interesting. There are so many places
on the internet where the comment sections are cesspools. HN makes an effort
to be different and it's working.

On a more personal level: I'm thankful for having had the opportunities in
life to achieve all my goals. For being born in a safe and stable country with
great healthcare (could have been dead a couple of times now) and other social
securities. For being married to a great wife who makes me happy and who makes
marriage seem almost effortless. And most of all I'm thankful for my kids.
They truly made my life complete.

------
AnimalMuppet
Cateract surgery.

I watched myself slowly going blind over several months. But at the end of it,
whenever I chose, I could say, "That's enough - time for surgery" instead of
just being blind for the rest of my life.

Seeing is _really cool_ , people. It's a really major deal. Once you think
about what it means to not have it, you really value having it.

Walking is a big deal, too. I'm thankful that my boss left that dolly where it
could _just barely_ catch the edge of that falling box with 600 pounds of
steel in it, so that it didn't absolutely crush my foot. (It tore through the
cardboard, slowly, so it landed on my foot as a slowly increasing load instead
of as a sudden jolt. That was plenty painful enough, but it didn't crush all
the bones in the arch of my foot.)

Walking, again - that falling 30 feet off a cliff didn't cripple me or kill
me.00

------
codetrotter
I typed out a long comment but it is not yet the time to say so much.

I am starting to see paths unfold that I would not have thought possible ten
years ago when I was first introduced to HN by some fellow members of a
student union I was in.

These past ten years of my life have been a mixture of a lot of things.
Failures, despair, depression, but also successes, personal growth and
learning.

For now I just want to say that spending a lot of time on HN is a double-edged
sword, and I've seen both sides - it can be a time sink, as it has been for me
at times, unhealthy even, but it is also an amazing place, and one that I am
so, so happy that I was told of and that I decided to stick around on.

And in case it wasn't abundantly clear - these paths that seem to be unfolding
are in very very large part thanks to knowledge and awareness that I have
gained from the posts and discussions that I read on HN and spent my time on.

------
throwaway98121
I grew up in poverty. As a kid, I had potato chips for breakfast if I ate at
all and remember being hungry most mornings at school.

I just got my second promotion at a FAANG in three years. I have great work
life balance. I can afford to buy food and more. I invest and max out my 401k
and my older sibling is now in her final year of her residency and my younger
sibling is almost done with bachelors. My spouse loves me. I was very sick
this thanksgiving and it was nice to be taken care of. I still have anxiety
and confidence issues, and I’m terribly afraid of risk... but it’s gotten
substantially better than a few years ago.

------
davidscolgan
I'm thankful for my city. I finally moved to Chicago from from rural Indiana
and I feel like I've finally found where I belong.

I'm thankful for my mental health therapist who has helped me greatly in
dealing with relationship issues and mental health problems in general.

I'm thankful for my business coach, who got me out of a rut in my freelance
career and introduced me to a whole new world of effectiveness.

I'm thankful for a comment a friend made the other day. He knew me about 5
years ago when I was playing around with livestreaming on Twitch.tv. Yesterday
he and I were video calling and he commented that "you've really become a lot
more poised and confident in front of the camera and your speech is a lot
smoother." I've wondered if I really am making progress on social anxiety and
that was really encouraging.

------
waterhouse
Last Sunday, I dropped my wallet on the ground. By Monday, I was starting to
look into cancelling credit and debit cards, and what I'd do without a
driver's license... and then it turned out a "Mr. Diaz" who drives a garbage
truck found it, called the numbers he saw in it, and established contact with
me. I got it back in time for work; nothing was missing, and he refused to
even take money when I offered it to him.

It's a very nice data point.

------
james_s_tayler
I'm thankful I don't have to walk hours every day to collect dirty water just
to survive.

I'm thankful I have the opportunity to help solve the problem.

[https://youtu.be/XLdDMDkwK1s](https://youtu.be/XLdDMDkwK1s)

------
the_jeremy
I am thankful for my new job. After graduating, I worked at a defense
contractor for over a year and got tasked with basically nothing and had no
one care about results, staying current, or learning, and I felt it. They kept
saying things would change when I got my security clearance, but as I talked
to more and people, I realized that it wouldn't be enough of a change, so I
switched industries. In my new role, I am learning a ton (because they decided
to hire me even though I didn't have the knowledge they originally wanted) and
I am loving it. My team is super helpful and I'm reminded why I first enjoyed
programming and problem solving.

~~~
popcorncolonel
That's great! It feels so good to be doing something you want to do.

------
Walkman
Python. It changed my life significantly. I have a job I love, I earn good
money. Not sure I could have reached what I did under a couple of years with
other languages, because Python let me focus on learning all kind of things
beside it, because it was fairly easy to pick up.

------
diegoperini
Today, a random person (actually two people) from some random country saved my
career and financial security. I'm thankful for that.

~~~
parf02
would be curious to hear more details of this story haha

~~~
diegoperini
Edit: I hope you had the chance to see the reason. I'm deleting the
explanation to keep cyberstalkers away.

~~~
gronne
While im curious about your story im even more curious about why and how it
could somehow be abused by cyberstalkers?

~~~
diegoperini
HR people can be creepy sometimes. I mentioned some private details about my
contacts.

------
arunc
I'm thankful for Walter Bright and Andrei Alexanderscu, the authors of the D
programming language. Although I found the language late in 2015, it showed me
a new way to think about programming. I just hope D language foundation gets
some corporate backing to break the inertia and exceed the critical mass.

------
lsh
Linux and f/oss, every single day. I think certain personalities are drawn to
certain tools, languages, philosophies and I don't think technology today
would be nearly as interesting if it were dominated by Windows. Or Apple, or
IBM. We've carved a niche out for ourselves and we've done it so well, it's
important we realise that and cultivate it.

------
steven2012
I'm thankful that I love programming even after 2 decades, and that I'm very
well paid for it. And I still come into work every day and love the
challenges. There was a time where I was burnt out and needed to take a year
off, but thankfully since then I've been able to center myself and my
expectations and I've been thankful every day since.

~~~
rak00n
What did you do in that year off?

I'm feeling like I'm pretty close to a burn out and I'm not sure how to deal
with it.

------
vedant
I'm thankful for all the extremely improbable things that had to happen for me
to have the experience I'm having.

I am thankful

\- To have been born to loving, educated parents

-To live in a time and place with economic and social liberty

\- To have a loving and growing group of friends and family around the world
who live interesting and inspiring lives

-To live in a time where so many of us can travel at the speed of sound and communicate at the speed of light

-To be able to ask any question, purchase any common object, or want to see any loved one face-to-face, and have my wish fulfilled by a vast global network of machines that do our bidding

-For the millions of seekers, of wise men and women, who created wonders from the energy of the sun and the materials of the Earth, and showed us the way through the darkness

-That after 1000 trillion creatures and eons of failed attempts, one particular hairless ape on one particular wet rock evolved a 3 pound mass of flesh into the most sophisticated computational apparatus in the universe

\- That it feels like anything at all to be thinking meat.

------
toomanybeersies
I'm grateful for the fact that I have an incredibly supportive group of
friends and family.

In the off chance that I lost my job or something bad happened to me, I know
that there's always a couch out there I can crash on. And if it all goes
wrong, I can fly back to my hometown and know that there's a bed waiting for
me at my parents' house.

And on the other hand, I'm sure that a lot of my friends are grateful for me
offering the same. I've had a lot of mates crashing on my couch, I've made it
clear that my door is always open and there's always something to eat and
drink in my house if they need it. It's the least I can do to help, $5 of food
isn't much to me, but can be a lot to others.

I have the privilege of being one of the few people in my group of friends who
has a stable job that pays well. So I guess I'm fortunate for that, I'm
fortunate that I don't have a substance abuse problem or debilitating mental
health issues.

------
chairmanwow
Growing up, my family relied on government aid to buy food. My father had a
stroke when I was in 6th grade, and despite being able to recover, my mother
realized that she would be unable to support my siblings and I without him. I
am the second oldest of 6 kids, so I was old enough to kinda understand the
stakes facing my family.

My mother then went back to college to earn a degree in nursing. She pushed
herself harder than I think a human should need to go to ensure my sisters and
I had a stable platform upon which to launch our lives.

I then received an incredible need-based scholarship to university and this
was hands down the best thing that has ever happened to me. My mind was
expanded farther than I thought possible by the people I met, the culture of
embracing and admiring the results of dedication and hard work, and the
realization that I have agency to change my circumstances. I realized my life
could be more impactful than I ever dared to dream as kid in my small, rural
town.

I studied Chinese and CS, and stumbled into opportunity after opportunity that
pushed me to grow as a citizen of the world and acquire skills that allow me
to take part in it.

I am now working on (what is to me) one of the most interesting problems that
humankind is attempting to tackle. I am learning incredible lessons about how
intelligent people can make progress in an arena of extremely high
uncertainty. I am learning what processes lead to innovation and technological
advancement. I am surrounded by people from every corner of the Earth from a
diverse array of milieus.

I am incredibly grateful for these opportunities to learn, adapt, and
(hopefully) become an agent of change for those that had challenging starts in
life. I know there are many others that were just as “deserving” of the
chances I received, but for a myriad of reasons were never graced by the blind
luck I was.

For these reasons and more, I am thankful.

~~~
omosubi
Wow great story! Do you mind expanding on the problem you are trying to
tackle?

------
zengid
Finally getting a job as a Developer! I've been at it for the last 4 years,
and couldn't have done it without support from my wife and family.

------
stackzero
All the people who develop OSS in their free time. Text editors, plugins,
kernels, package managers, compilers, the list goes on in any ecosystem. The
number of these projects I interact with knowingly and unknowingly on a daily
basis is ridiculous and represents the cumulative effort of many. My day job
is all the better for it, so I take my hat off to those awesome folk.

Thanks for all the hard fought PRs, features, and optimizations that make our
lives as developers what they are today.

------
Kye
I'm thankful for the furry community. I was alone, extremely confused about
gender and sexuality, and really not sure I was going to make it another month
way back in 2013 before stumbling on some furry art. Going down that rabbit
hole helped me find acceptance, affirmation, confidence, and new hobbies I
never considered before. A furry podcast (Furcast/Friday Night Tech) set me on
the path to making music, and that's been a huge boost to my life.

------
nmdeadhead
I'm thankful I got lucky.

I was born in a prosperous country at a good time. I had parents who were well
intentioned and reasonably smart. I have an older sister and got to see and
avoid some of her mistakes.

Some of the work that I did early on is not too impressive now, but was
sufficiently impressive at the time that I never had to look for work.

Capitalism appears to be rewarding people like me. I think there are many
people who come from cultures that are resistant to learning better ways to do
things. As such, they stagnate, while people who are able to separate the
wheat from the chaff on the internet learn ways to be efficient that create
ever widening gulfs between themselves and the dig-in-their-heels-and-never-
admit-room-for-improvement crowd.

------
p0d
My wife. I was going to leave work recently and have a go at growing my
sideline. I decided to stay at work. My wife was 100% behind me whatever I
chose which meant a lot.

------
andaci
The EU. I can study in the Netherlands with world-class education in English
and get free healthcare.

------
nly
I'm thankful that the hard times I went through in my personal life from
mid-2017 until mid-2018. Now, in a new relationship, new job, in a new city,
with the same family, same friends, same interests, same HN. I'm nowhere where
I thought I'd be, yet i'm happy, and it's a reminder that life can turn on a
dime.

------
peterkelly
The maturity and quality of discussions on HN. It's not perfect, but far
better than many other places online.

------
jaxn
I'm thankful for this website.

As a middle-aged developer in a fly-over state,this site has helped me to stay
current for years. I can't think of a single other site that has impacted my
career even half as much.

------
jf
I’m thankful for an AQI below 50.

~~~
tehlike
Little things we come to appreciate when we lose even temporarily.

Happy thanksgiving.

------
RickJWagner
Being alive in this time.

The rich have more things than ever before. The middle class live better than
the very richest used to. Even the poor have things that were beyond the reach
of the very rich just a short while ago.

Diseases have been conquered. Knowledge is freely available and easily
accessed. Poor nations are advancing, rich nations are prosperous.

People have ways of connecting with other people, travelling and communicating
that were never before possible.

It's a GREAT time to be alive.

------
apexalpha
My country, really.

I was born in one of the richest and progressive countries in the world and
honestly it has given me so much. I never really thought about it until I
loved abroad for a bit and met people from other countries.

I'm not a kid who was always good at school. Actually, I didn't do jack shit
until I was 23. I tried 3 different uni's, did high school at the middle level
etc.. And at the end of it the government still offered to pay for my year
long programming course.

Of course I've always been good with computers but I never studied it
properly. I got a good job and life now because even after 3 failed attempts I
was still supported and I'm more than happy to pay it forward.

And also my loving parents who have never been mad with me and always
supported me even through my games-way-too-much high school period and other
weird quirks I had to overcome.

------
sandov
Having all my extremities working perfectly, no diseases or major health
issues.

Being born in a country with decent standards of living (Chile). Yeah, it's
not as good as the US or Switzerland, but it's much better than every other
latinamerican country, and better than most of the world.

Having access to the Internet, you guys understand better than anyone else why
it's such a privilege.

Speaking English. I learned as a teenager playing videogames (Morrowind <3)
and browsing sites like reddit. Now I don't have to worry about it like
everyone else around me, I already know it.

Curiosity. I always want to understand how things work, in fact, it's what
gives meaning to my life: Understading and applying the knowledge to create
cool things.

------
avar
That I, unlike most of my biological ancestors, can expect a death that
doesn't involve being eaten alive. Better yet, I was born at a time when my
species had invented modern dentistry, and I'm able to afford it. Everything
else is just gravy.

------
sudosteph
I'm thankful for everything I've learned in the past 5 years while living in
Seattle. I learned a lot about who I am, what I really value, and how I want
to go forward and build my life with the people I care about. There was a lot
of disillusionment involved, but it was necessary for growth.

I'm likewise thankful I will soon return to a place where I feel totally at
home, and that I will be returning there without most of the baggage that made
me want to leave. I'm thankful that my friends and family are patient with me,
and though I may try their patience or be frustrating sometimes, ultimately,
it doesn't change our core love and affection for one another.

------
rdiddly
Just asked for a large raise, and while I don't yet know the outcome, I'm
thankful that they seem to be taking it seriously.

(Outcome is unknown because email is down. I guess the IT guy seized the
opportunity presented by the holiday for some maintenance!)

~~~
diegoperini
Kudos to that guy!

------
ingend88
I am thankful that after about 6+ years, I found a solution to my leg issue
where I could not stand for more than few mins. It actually turned out to be
lack of proper sleep which was resolved using sleeping medication. Thank you!

------
jtwaleson
My family, my kids, my skills and the countless opportunities to apply them.

70+ years without major wars in Europe. The people that sacrificed their lives
to make that happen.

My first stock option plan, which allowed me to live debt-free (excluding
mortgage).

My health.

------
drcongo
Open source.

~~~
invalidOrTaken
You know, I thought of this one too, even though it seemed to "HN-y." But it
really is something that almost _demands_ gratitude---thousands (probably more
like millions) of people have slaved away at making software work (and I know
what that can be like), and I get to use the fruits of their labors. It's
humbling.

------
piinbinary
I didn't realize until recently how much I took clean air for granted, but
today I am thankful for it.

------
rblion
Grateful that I can look back on my time on this planet and see a series of
connected ‘coincidences’ that are leading to a future better than I can even
imagine. The constituents of every little thing I enjoy in my everyday life
were carefully produced by Nature over billions of years and were fashioned
into useful or joyful things by other human beings. People no different from
you or me in many respects.

Grateful to be an Indian-American and to be alive in 2018 AD instead of any
other time in history. My cultural identity is rooted in my family tree that
found a way to make it to the Land of Opportunity before I was born, the
Natives who roamed these lands for millennia, and the pioneering ethos of
America that established the National Park Service. Throughout my twenties,
I’ve been fortunate to experience some of what was described in the Vedas,
some sacred ceremonies of the Natives, and to be pursuing my version of the
American Dream.

Grateful to have experienced the heaviness of the seafloor and the euphoria of
the summit. These experiences have made it possible for me to empathically
relate to nearly everyone I meet, even people who may not like me or agree
with me. It puts the biggest smile on my face to be able to See the unity in
the diversity, to Hear the order in the chaos, to Feel the perfection in the
paradox. That I, too, can contribute to this collective creation we call
‘civilization’ if I can continue to cultivate the courage and compassion to
overcome these mountains before me and within me.

Thanks for reading, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! :)

------
deepaksurti
\- My parents, for always being so articulative in every important sphere
(education, health, finance, relationships)

\- My wife, for placing the faith in my gut instinct and guiding it with her
solid planning skills

\- Common Lisp

\- HN

The above 4 have all combined forces in ways that I cannot appreciate enough
but I know have been crucial in giving me a happy and peaceful work and
personal life.

I with my wife are doing our bit to give back whatever good we have received.
Thank you.

------
betocmn
Shipping containers -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcom_McLean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcom_McLean)

------
smilesnd
I am thankful for the same thing I am thankful for everyday, air in my lungs
and a belly full of food. I found out a long time ago that is all it takes to
make me happy.

------
hkmurakami
Thankful for my physical and mental health, which is all too easy to take for
granted.

------
phs318u
Most mornings that I wake up, I am thankful. I make an effort to be mindful of
my continued existence. I take a breath, realise I'm still alive, and
acknowledge that today I have another opportunity to do better, be better,
make amends, change what I can. Very often the mindfulness only lasts for 15
minutes and I do none of those things. But I'm thankful that every day, I get
another chance.

------
purplezooey
Separation of church and state.

~~~
craftyguy
Out of curiosity, which country are you from where this is followed?

------
ryanmercer
That I get off work in 10 minutes and can go home and have whatever leftovers
exist after working my 13th Thanksgiving in a row for shit pay.

~~~
avip
Thank the fridge for holding the leftovers for you in an edible state.

------
halotrope
Good health. Seriously. The one thing that the invincible young tech-crowd has
to lose once to truly appreciate. Its close to everything.

------
bsvalley
Grateful for the money I made within the last 10 years. I was aggressively
trying to get to that point years ago and now here I am. Guess what, I haven't
even spent a penny of that money, turns out I'm a minimalist. All I need is
the drive to do things. I am simply grateful for that drive. Money made me
realized that I don't need money.

------
escthrowaway
I'm thankful I got out of technology. The money is worse (so far), but
everything else is much better for me.

------
goniometer
Haha, this is an easy one.

I am thankful that I can walk. I walk slowly and with a limp, but I walk a
moderate amount of distance without pain to walk errands.

It is a leg injury that left me in constant pain and even in more pain on
weight bearing. It took two surgeries to get me back on feet and I lost two
years to the suffering.

------
abvdasker
A good job as a software engineer that pays me generously enough to meet all
my basic needs and enough leftover to feel a level of security and help out my
family when they need it. Far too many people in the world have to live
without financial security and I'm thankful that I have it.

------
curlcntr
My team at work. We are racing to an important deadline. Everyone is working
well together. Its just fun.

------
p0d
Thank you for the software. Thank you for the hardware. Thank you for the
Internet. Thank you for the Telecomms. Thank you for the Electricity Supply.
Thank you for the Power Stations. Thank you for the Oil, Gas and Renewables.
And thank you for the coffee mug my kids gave me.

------
chauhankiran
I'm thankful to my two primary teachers for their support. One of them is not
with us on this earth and second, I don't know where she is.

but, when I think about my life back in the past how it was, I always think
about them as how they are supportive to me. Otherwise, there was no way for
me to study engineering as my parents already planned to give 12th standard
education and then to involve in our small family business. But because of
them, I came up with a bright student and my parent allow me to study further.
I'm also thankful to my family. But as of now, I'm thinking about my fav.
teachers.

------
burfog
I'm thankful that the price of gasoline has dropped down to about $2 in much
of the USA, in some cases even below. Tulsa is getting it for $1.90 now. It
all feels like I'm seeing prices from the prior century.

~~~
Flip-per
Why is this so important to you? I, living in Europe and not owning a car,
would be happy about higher gas prices (they are way higher in Europe than in
the US already). Because I hope this would help to reduce CO2 emissions.

~~~
burfog
Well, my van gets 11 MPG. I need this for a large family. (still fuel
efficient due to number of people)

BTW, some conversions for you: My van needs about 21.38 liters per 100 km. The
fuel price is about 0.46 Euro/L, in some cases as low as 0.44 Euro/L.

Low fuel cost is hugely important for the economy. High prices create a
recession or depression. Fuel affects everything, and recently the price of
oil dropped by 25%. Farm goods are affected by tractor fuel prices. Most
plastic comes from oil. Our trains mostly run on diesel, so this can affect
ticket prices. Normal planes require jet fuel, which is more of the same. Both
exports and imports need bunker fuel for ships. Oil is even used to make roads
and steel.

So the prices show up everywhere. You might not personally buy any fuel, but
the cost of it is in the price of everything you buy.

I guess I can add: I'm thankful that I don't have to depend on non-redundant
rail and unionized government workers for my transportation needs.

~~~
Faaak
11 MPG ??? How old is your van ?

~~~
burfog
It's the 2011 model year. It's a real van, with 15 seats, so 11 MPG is pretty
good.

The engine: 5.4 L (330 cu in) SOHC 2V V8

It looks like this: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_E-
Series_wagon.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_E-Series_wagon.jpg)

Oh, also: I'm thankful I got a chance to buy a 15-passenger van before they
were all legislated out of production. I'm thankful mine hasn't failed yet.

~~~
ComputerGuru
I personally prefer the diesel models, they are more reliable. I've heard
horror stories about the gasoline-powered E-series and Chevy Express models.

I wasn't aware they're no longer in production? I just passed on a 2019 Chevy
Express 15 passenger (see above). Also, loads of companies buy the base models
from Ford and Chevy then outfit them with up to 15 seats and other amenities
for use as passenger transport vans.

~~~
burfog
Oh maybe. Dodge ended production in June 2002. From the 2015 model year on,
Ford won't do a passenger configuration. I thought the Chevy one was the
Astro, which is discontinued.

So yes, the 2019 Chevy Express 15 passenger van is at least theoretically
available. The dealer locator can't find such a vehicle within 250 miles of
me, which includes almost the entire state of Florida.

It's unsurprising, because that would be a $250,000 liability for the seller
if any subsequent buyer were to use the van for transporting school or daycare
children. Nobody is crazy enough to sell these vans new in Florida.

The liability can be avoided by leasing the van and then selling it used. Sure
enough, used vans are available. They are white (or rarely black) with
gasoline engines and cloth seats. They are all the 2017 model (coming off
2-year leases) with about 40,000 miles of usage.

I dislike Chevy/GMC/Dodge/Chrysler vehicle controls, particularly the parking
brake and the windshield wiper controls. Ford engines seem to work fine,
gasoline included. I consider the Ford transmissions to be consumable parts
like brake rotors, although so far mine is doing fine. The Chevy Express
diesel engine is weak compared to the better gasoline engine, even for torque.

Well, thank you for the info. So now: I'm thankful that these vehicles haven't
gone entirely extinct.

~~~
ComputerGuru
Oh, your comment makes me think that this might be a regional thing. Here in
Illinois we have a special vehicle licensing program where non-commercial
drivers (i.e. coaches, parents, teachers) may bus students (up to the
15-passenger limit) in these vans if the van is inspected at special safety
inspection facilities every 6 months and displays that sticker on the
windshield, so they're extremely popular with churches and small schools.

~~~
burfog
I wonder how that squares with federal law.

Federal law requires that states take measures to prevent such usage. Florida
did what I explained. An alternative might be to make the usage a criminal
offense, or to impose a fine on the driver, or to destroy any vehicle used for
that purpose.

I don't see how Illinois can do as you say and still have federal highway
funding.

This all came into being after lots of roll-over accidents made the news. I'd
much rather the legislation mandate a better suspension and a better center of
gravity, or simply some performance criterion to be tested.

~~~
ComputerGuru
They're recognized under NHTSA's MFSAB classification, which IDOT allowed
(Illinois Public Act 96-410, Illinois Public Act 97-378) for non-mandatory
school-related activities that do not include transportation between home/bus
stops/school, provided the aforementioned six-monthly safety checks are up to
date.

Illinois Public Act 97-896 and Public Act 99-888 extended this to include
mandatory school activities but only when driven by a driver with a school bus
driving permit.

Here's the most important bill:
[http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name...](http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-0410)

------
rhn_mk1
Being brought to existence as a human, an in a prosperous country on top of
that.

------
JoshCalbet
I'm thankful for every piece of code that has run in my computer. I'm grateful
for all of you guys for helpful advice and fruitful discussions. Thanks for
keep this flame burning with hope!

------
code_duck
I honestly don’t know. I feel grateful for the basic stimuli of physical
existence. I don’t really feel very good about anything else in my life due to
years of serious health problems and my lack of a positive future - the best
thing I have going now is that nobody can take anything away from me, I’d
happily just die.

In the meantime, and thankful to be living in this time and amazing technology
and opportunity. I’m grateful to be in a booming city with the glitzy culture
during a time of relative peace.

HN is great too, you’re right.

------
dev_north_east
I'm thankful that

\- I found my wife and she agreed to spend the rest of her life with me. \- I
was lucky to born into a loving family in a relatively stable part of the
world \- that I earn money (decent money) doing something I enjoy

------
taw02992
6 years ago I was in high school, rural USA, living in the unfinished attic of
a house with a Master Lock on the pantry door (parents' idea of extending food
runway). I had also never written a single line of code!

Now I have a beautiful apartment in Manhattan all to myself and I can do
whatever the hell I want.

So thankful for everyone on the internet who acknowledged programming as a
viable career. If I didn't have the software community telling me all this
stuff was possible I never would have even tried.

------
Insanity
A lot of things. But most immediately coming to mind are.

A) My wife, and family B) Having the opportunity to go to work each day and
work in a sector I can feel good about. (Medical software)

------
richardknop
1\. Health

I have seen people and family members suffer from very bad chronic deseases.
It can make your life a nightmare. I’m thankful that I’m relatively healthy
and can lead a normal life without having to deal with problems of my body
falling apart.

2\. Family

It’s very important to have people you know love you despite your flaws and to
know there’ll always be some people to have your back even when anybody else
doesn’t care.

3\. Friends

Very important to have good friends that you can talk to and help each other.

------
Jach
A sufficient amount of mental fortitude to continue with the struggles of
living.

Dark Souls.

Friends I can count on one hand.

Everyone working at improving the human condition.

------
x220
I'm thankful that Guido van Rossum made the Python programming language. It's
the first language I really delved deep into in high school and it made me
seriously consider a future in computer science. It's also a delightful
language that I've had a fun time with and made some money with.

------
methusala8
I was dead-broke four years ago, when I was just completing my Education at
the age of Thirty. Four years later, I am doing OK (by my Country's standards)
and I can count on many people as good friends.

I am thankful towards life for giving me a second chance to undo the mistakes
that I committed the first time over.

------
Jobbobo
I am thankfulk i tumbled on the video "Weezer - Pork And Beans" which then
lead me to the following post before joining HN.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17334552](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17334552)

------
resters
There is so much to be thankful for. Thank you to the many people on HN who
have taken the time to type in an insightful comment and have resisted the
urge to just down vote something they disagreed with and had the respect to
share some insight.

------
samblr
I N T E R N E T

The wealth of informtaion and access to people it brings. It truly is web of
human minds.

------
rcar1046
My dog and best friend Merlin.

------
sys_64738
Emacs.

~~~
Mxtetris
And Org mode.

------
exodust
> _only read divisive threads and thus see it as a monoculture._

Wouldn't a divisive thread be seen as the opposite of a monoculture? Where you
have disagreements, you have a range of perspectives.

------
mrcsparker
Family and friends.

Tonight was wonderful. Every year is better than the last.

------
huxflux
My wife and all the shit she put up with living with me.

------
weavie
Algebraic data types

------
johnohara
The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field image, global connectivity, living at a time, and
having the resources, to use one for viewing the other.

------
_mrmnmly
Great parents, lovely family (wife, kids), being healthy and able to work hard
to provide them everything they need in life.

------
ronreiter
I am thankful for being happy and healthy.

------
kiostech
I am thankful for my parents because they raise me up and fully support me in
the journal of startup.

------
m00dy
Typescript

------
minkzilla
Family. All my family deeply loves each other, a true blessing.

------
PopeDotNinja
Elixir. It made me a better programmer in every language.

------
b1r6
Thankful for encryption, as it is synonymous with liberty.

------
shanth
dear me, thank you for being me.

------
g5095
Jesus

~~~
jlbang
This is the most under-voted answer.

------
cronix
Insatiable curiosity.

------
alexilliamson
Film and music.

------
DoreenMichele
HN, of course.

------
bikamonki
Everything

------
hnuser355
Math textbooks

------
choot
RS3057 gene for giving me absolute pitch.

Fast twitch muscle fibers for getting be bigger muscle faster with less
training

23andme for telling me about my abilities which i never knew about

