By Philip Gull

A pursued attitude of gratitude (2/5)

Monday

1. I am grateful that I don’t hate Mondays.
2. I am grateful that I’m told to take it easy on weekends.
3. I am grateful I don’t have to live for weekends, because I didn’t have the best weekend and missed Maddy’s party and really wanted to go.
4. I am grateful I look forward to 6pm Friday and 8am Monday almost equally.
5. I am grateful I am working with Max this week, because he’s super talented and completely different from me.
6. I am grateful Pete once said ‘work with someone you think is better than you’, because it was really good advice.
7. I am grateful it is a really easy thing to do at SCA.
8. I am grateful the sofas in the pit are old and not the most comfortable and don’t tempt me with the fuzzy tendrils of sleep.
9. I am grateful Marc publishes almost all SCABs, even when they have awful phrases like ‘fuzzy tendrils’ in them.
10. I am grateful for socks. They’re a great invention.
11. I am grateful for big jumpers because they’re comfortable and conceal a January physique all in one!
12. I am grateful for being physically comfortable every day – fed, clothed, roof and bed – so I can focus on getting out of my psychological ‘comfort zone’.
13. I am grateful for how spacious SCA is, because it reminds me I’m chasing the opposite of a cubicle job.
14. I am grateful for the sofas at the back where you can lie down and think about things and feel strangely hidden.
15. I am grateful that ideas come to you when you’re close to sleep or not expecting them at all.
16. I am grateful that ideas are a thing. I don’t really know how to define them, though.
17. I am grateful for the Oxford English Dictionary being online, and allowing me to read huge entries on individual words.
18. I am grateful for the internet.
19. I am grateful that I could just learn that ‘idea’ means both ‘eternal archetype’ and ‘image existing in the mind’, which is not only a nice dichotomy to how ideas are formed vs. what they aspire to be, but also suggests that ideas can be the biggest things in the universe and the smallest at the same time. Which is a nice thought.
20. I am grateful such fascinating things as etymons exist.
21. I am grateful I have a sister and a Big Rib who are good at Greek and Latin and can tell me where etymons come from.
22. I am grateful you can learn a world of things in the history of a little world.
23. I am grateful English is a language where small words do a great deal.
24. I am grateful for those 48p bags of peanuts big Tescos sell.
25. I am grateful that in the modern world, lots of thought gets put into marketing stuff you might not be conscious of, like putting what products where in the supermarket. I love going into supermarkets and trying to work out the thinking behind these arrangements.
26. I am grateful bread is really cheap.
27. I am grateful for toast.
28. I am grateful for my big green winter coat.
29. I am grateful I have two incredible sisters.
30. I am eternally grateful they were there for me when I was ill, and kept me sane.
31. I am grateful we can talk about deep stuff and support each other.
32. I am grateful they still love me, even when I haven’t been the best big brother I could be.
33. I am grateful they are better people than me, and motivate me every single day to improve on myself.
34. I am grateful we can be silly or serious together.
35. I am grateful to have people in my life I wish more success on than myself.
36. I am grateful we all love Wii Sports Resort. What a damn game.
37. I am grateful for being able to cry. Because I know some people can’t, but sometimes there’s no better feeling.
38. I am grateful for how lovely everyone was at SCA the week after I broke up with my girlfriend in December.
39. I am grateful for getting a TV recently, and having BBC Four because it’s full of interesting stuff.
40. I am grateful for hope.
41. I am grateful that if this all goes to pot, I can go back to the library for a year or two and try again.
42. I am grateful Lucy and Aleks made a great PB but more than that, that they showed a great work ethic and commitment because that makes me want to work harder and compete every week.
43. I am grateful that when I write these lists, Notes automatically keeps the list numbering going. Nifty!
44. I am grateful for how school slowly warms up, because I can appreciate it when it gets nice and balmy at about 11am, and then outside feels lovely and brisk when I go to big Tesco.
45. I am grateful I rediscovered my chocolate milk when we cleaned out the fridge!
46. I am grateful Constantin is back in today, because he’s an incredible mentor and has loads of ideas.
47. I am grateful for Sophie’s amazing stop-motion film for Wonky Veg.
48. I am grateful Constantin is great at giving our random ideas direction and purpose.
49. I am grateful the sun is starting to set just a little bit later, now.
50. I am grateful for the orange and pinks over Brixton’s buildings at 5pm.
51. I am grateful for all the D&ADs dotted around the studio, because that’s about £500 of books we can just read.
52. I am grateful for Alysha’s drawing skills and positive attitude.
53. I am grateful for Pete giving every group lots of time on Mondays.
54. I am grateful for music.
55. I am grateful for how many cyclists there are in London.
56. I am grateful for all the positive role models in my life.
57. I am grateful for people lending laptop chargers.
58. I am grateful for ‘Hey Ya!’ by Outkast
59. I am grateful for feeling like I’m testing myself each and every day.
60. I am grateful for Lucozade convincing me they help in the gym.
61. I am grateful for having enough money to afford a gym membership.
62. I am grateful for the cold walk back from the gym.
63. I am grateful I’ve made it two days in a row. Because two days is the start of a habit.