52. Did This Challenge Change You? | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

I can't believe it's been an entire year since I started this challenge! It's been so enlightening and self-actualizing to take the time every Sunday morning to reflect on an aspect of my life and express gratitude toward it.

I definitely feel as though this challenge has changed me. I found that I am grateful for aspects of my life that I don't normally express gratitude toward. My relationships have benefited greatly thanks to this challenge. I've realized how important all my friends and family are to me and I've been making a more conscious effort to tell them and to thank them for the role they play in my life.

Finding gratitude in every aspect in my life has allowed me to be a generally happier person. I realize how blessed I am- there is always something to be grateful for. 

I've become a lot more mindful throughout this process. I'm aware of all the amazing things in my life and how they make me feel. I have allowed myself to feel everything and have validated every emotion along the way. 

This challenge has had nothing but positive effects on my life and I would highly suggest everyone try it! It doesn't need to be on a public blog or anything. It can be in a little notebook or even just a mental process where you devote some time one day per week to reflect on that weeks topic of gratitude. I hope all of you will try this challenge. 

Today I'm grateful for the beautiful weather we are having! It's supposed to get up to 20 degrees Celsius today so my friends and I are heading downtown to take some pictures! 

What are you grateful for today? Let me know in a comment!

Thanks for reading & check back again to see what KatieDidd, xo

36. Your Home & 37. Something You Created | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

36. Your Home

I'm so unbelievably blessed to have not just one, but two places I can call home. At the moment I'm in Sault Ste. Marie at my family home for winter break; I love this house and I love this city and I love that my whole family is here- it really is so homey and I hope to move back here after college (but who knows, right?). I'm also very blessed to be able to call Ottawa my home for the time being. I feel really at home in my apartment. My roommates are amazing, I have made great friends and the city has become a place where I'm very comfortable. I can't say wether or not Ottawa is a place I will call home forever, it really is such a big city, but it's home for now and I'm grateful for all it's offerings!

37. Something You Created

I spent all morning mulling over this topic (which is why this is a later blog post than most Sunday uploads haha). As an artist I create so much on a regular basis from paintings to poems to photos and so on. Without being able to put my finger on a single stand out art piece that I've created, I had to knock all art off the table. During my morning yoga it dawned on me that I have created everything about my life and that's what I'm most grateful for. I have created a beautiful life for myself at only twenty years of age and I'm very proud of that. 

I hope you are all counting your blessings as the new year begins. Where do you call home? I'm very curious about where in the world you are located! Also what are you most grateful for at the minute? I'd love to read about your gratitude in a comment.

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

29. Your Favourite Memory | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

It's really hard to pinpoint one single memory within the 20 years I've been alive to call my favourite. After giving this weeks topic much consideration and deep thought, I can narrow it down to basically any time my entire extended family came to our camp. It was always such a joy to spend the day in the lake, have a big potluck barbecue cookout for dinner, and end the night sitting around the bonfire until the wee hours of the morning. The memories I have from camp are ones I will cherish for my entire life. I really hope that one day I can be in a position both financially and time-wise to be able to have a camp to take my own children to. I want them to have those beautiful experiences and memories like I do.

What is your favourite memory? Please do let me know- reminiscing is always so fun and special!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

18. The Weather | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

This time of the year holds my favourite type of weather- windy, warm days with cool, brisk evenings. Beginning of fall is such a beautiful time all around, but my favourite part is definitely the weather (okay, the fashion). I love that when the days get cooler I can start layering my clothes more and start wearing my cozy leggings with big, knit sweaters, cute heeled boots, and amazing scarves! This really is my favourite time of the year for so many reasons, but I do believe that it's mainly the weather- it puts me in such a pleasant and calm mood.

With this time of the year also comes more rain; I love the rain. I love putting on my rubber boots, grabbing my umbrella and going out in the rain for a walk. Or, sitting inside with a cup of hot chocolate and just watching the rain come down. 

I find so much peace and contentment within the rain which is slightly odd as a lot of people associate the rain with a more depressed state. 

This time of the year also means that the snow is soon to fall- we usually get our first snow fall around here by the end up September/beginning of October. I absolutely love the snow and the cold that comes along with fall/winter. 

This weeks gratitude topic could not have come at a better time. As the summer draws to an end and the cooler months approach, I am really taking in the weather. I'm lucky enough to live in a country where summer doesn't last too long (although I do enjoy summer) so we get a lot more cool months than we do warm.

What is your favourite weather? Are you excited for fall/winter? Do let me know!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge | June 21, 2015

9. How Did You Do and How Did You Feel

So last week the challenge was to give thanks to three people and this week is the follow up to that. I think I did an alright job at expressing my gratitude to three people in my life. I'm not the most upfront person nor am I emotional so I had a fear going into the challenge that the three people I was expressing gratitude toward would just laugh me off with something along the lines of, "haha okay Kate, thanks" but I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't. 

In regards to how I felt, I think the best word to describe it would be relief. Once I got it off my chest just how grateful I am to have them in my life it felt like I didn't have anything to hide anymore. I spend a lot of time masking my emotions that anytime I'm vulnerable I get quite scared. Letting people know how I feel actually allowed me to feel lighter, if you will. I really recommend telling people around you how grateful you are for them. It's like releasing yourself from a secret in the best way possible.

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge | June 14, 2015

8: Express Gratitude to 3 People

When I saw what this weeks challenge was, I immediately felt anxious! I am not the best at expressing myself with words, I'd much prefer to write a letter. Although the challenge didn't specify that it had to be a verbal expression of gratitude, I took the opportunity to really and truly challenge myself. I was surprised at how easy it was! I didn't just start a new conversation saying, "hey did you know I'm grateful for you?" Working an expression of gratitude into the flow of conversation is not difficult in the least.

1. My Parents

During dinner I decided to thank my parents for all the love and guidance they have given me throughout my 20 years thus far. I mainly thanked them for their ability to teach me how to properly handle money. We were discussing my financial situation and how I am going to pay for college and I felt the need during that discussion to really express my gratitude toward them for teaching me that money is better in the bank than spent on frivolous things. I would be in a really bad position at this time if I didn't have money in the bank to help me out with school -student loans only go so far!

2. My Mom

Jeez, I'm just showering this woman with gratitude aren't I? Ha ha ha. My mom and I were listening to a radio show in the car while we were doing errands for the family and a commercial came on that said something along the lines of women are 5 times more likely to give up their child or be an absent mother after her husband leaves her and the child. Since my dad left before I was born, I took this opportunity to express to my mom how grateful I am that she didn't give me up! I couldn't imagine my life without my family. It would have been so much easier for her to let me go and not to have my face as a constant reminder of the man who left her, but instead she kept me, raised me, and loved me. She is such a strong woman and when I expressed this to her she had tears in her eyes. I don't think she ever expected me to thank her just for being my mom, but I know that it definitely made her feel as amazing as she deserves to feel.

3. My Cousin

While I was helping my cousin pack up her kitchen things into boxes for her upcoming move, we were discussing how we are so blessed to have grown up so close as we know people who have never met their cousins before! I seized this opportunity to let her know how grateful I am to have her in my life not only as a cousin and a role model, but as a friend.

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn