Lucky

So my mom and I have been looking at furniture for my apartment for next year (yay!) and found some really great stuff at a certain store in Little Rock. We spent a lot of time there last night, my dad and I went back to look today, and then we went and made the purchase and decisions this evening on a new bed and couch. We also got new mattresses for both of the beds at my house as we've had the same mattresses for a ridiculously long time and they're horribly uncomfortable. Anyway, big splurge, but well worth it.

But that isn't really the point of the story. The woman who sold us the furniture and has been working with us for the past two days is named Chase. She's 26 and really awesome. I liked her from the start and she was very helpful and real with us. As we were entering our final choices in the computer this evening, she ended up telling my mom and I her story. I'll give you the short version. When she was nine, her dad (one of the richest men in Jordan in the middle East) kidnapped her and her two sisters and took them to Jordan with him. After being abused, raped, and treated horribly because of her gender for her whole life, she ran away with her young daughter to Arkansas and changed her name and dyed her hair to escape her father and husband. She has an incredible story and she's so brave for all that she's survived. They say that everyone has a story, and they really mean it.

Hearing about surviving such incredible things really put my problems in perspective. My worries about shopping for an apartment or writing papers for finals really seems so petty. I have been so lucky in my life. I have two parents that love me and do their best to provide me with things to make my life comfortable. Although we've had a few months where we get a little nervous about paying the bills, we've never had to worry about where our next meal is going to come from. I'm fortunate enough to have a full scholarship and room and board at a good college. I have parents that support my choice to major in musical theater. I have incredible friends that I know I can call when I'm in trouble. I've never had any major health problems. Honestly, I've led a blessed life, and I'm so grateful for how lucky I have been. And I know that one day, I'll have to deal with problems that right now I feel like I could never face. But I'm so glad that I ran across Chase. It's nice to be reminded of everything I have to be thankful for and to meet someone that I could learn so much from.

Plus she was really good at designing furniture. She single-handedly decorated her father's palace in Jordan when she was fifteen. Pretty badass.