[Community-Service] Thankful

[Darian Smith]

Hi all,
  I want to wish each and everybody a happy thanksgiving.
I know that this year has looked so different in so many ways.
The pandemic has shaped all our lives in ways we would have never imagined, and the social unrest we have seen in our country has caused each of us to come face to face with realities that have been jarring and to begin to have tough 		conversations.
 I am thankful for  how our world has changed  if for the fact that it has caused us to be resilient in the face of these tough times.  I am thankful for how   this year has  challenged us to be better thinkers, better  communicators, better friends, better family, better people.  Sometimes we have met the challenge, other times we have missed the mark, but I am always optimistic that we will come through  the other side of what this crazy year has thrown at us and be stronger for it.
 Personally, I am thankful for my health, my job and my family. I am thankful  that while I probably haven’t gotten through this year thus far completely  unscathed,  I am so far getting through it.
Another thing I am thankful for is the NFB.
This month marks 80 years since the founding of our organization. The organization that has brought us all together. Without it  we would not have this division who’s philosophy is that of the federation’s.  Without the NFB we would not have motivational quotes, service spotlights and links to articles of a diverse array of people helping others, nor a list serve to convey those messages.
 I am thankful for the many people that make up our organization.  They aren’t just white, male and straight and Catholic. They aren't just black or  female or christian, they aren’t any one thing at all. . They are a  - cross-section of ethnicity,   sexual  identity, religious and political affiliations. Their intersectionality is so broad and rich. 
What all of our members have in common is that we believe in blind people, their hopes and dreams.  All of us want to live, learn, earn and love free of roadblocks  being placed in our way based upon the things that people think they know about us.
 I m  thankful for our federation and for all of you, my federation family.
 All my love, always.
  
Darian