Thanksgiving 2023: Oh, How Things Have Changed

I don’t post a blog every year for Thanksgiving, but this year especially I’ve been reflecting on how much my life has changed since my last Thanksgiving blog post in 2020.

(As I start this blog post, I want to acknowledge all indigenous people around the world, but especially the Native Americans, who have experienced erasure and oppression for centuries. Part of that erasure has historically been rooted in the holiday of Thanksgiving. I want to acknowledge and assure that in no way, shape, or form do I intend to erase Native American history, and that this blog is more about my personal life changes than the holiday of Thanksgiving itself. If you want to explore how you can honor Native Americans this Thanksgiving, check out this article from the NGO Cultural Survival.)

Not to go into intense details, but my Thanksgiving in 2020 was plagued with anxiety and subtle turmoil. During this time, I had a lot of people in my life that I no longer have in my life anymore (for the better). My acting career was still in the earliest of early stages, and I was still discovering who I was and what I needed in order to heal. Not to mention that fact that we were still in the depths of the COVID pandemic.

This year, I’m approaching Thanksgiving time with more light and happiness in my heart. Personally, I’ve grown immensely. While still not in the position in my acting career that I would like, as a person I feel like I’ve finally grown into myself and who I am – or, at the very least, I’m starting to. My career has picked up as well. Would 2020 me have believed me if I told them that just this year we’ve worked with Penguin Random House? That we’ve become a go-to interviewer for the Winter Film Awards International Film Festival? That we’re a member of the New York Women in Film and Television society? But, more than that, I’ve made some beautiful friendships since 2020. This time, it’s people that lift each other up and not people that rip each other apart. AND I have a new Thanksgiving tradition of hosting some of my closest friends and making Bosnian musaka (different than Greek or Bulgarian musaka). Yeah, life isn’t perfect but it's looking great.

I’m thankful for all the growth I’ve experienced. I’m thankful for the changes in my life. I’m thankful for having a job, a roof over my head, food to eat, clean water to drink, a bathroom and a shower. I’m thankful that I’m healthy, safe, healing, learning, growing. I’m deeply thankful for all of it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xx Selma