As I mentioned, I was inspired to do this by a guy I went to college with, who is sharing his posts of gratitude on Facebook. And what's interesting about that is he's writing about being grateful for certain people, who he links in the app, and it's got this entire separate component of publicly thanking people who might not know they had an impact on your life. Which I love.
I have been thinking a lot about this – as I consider where to post my own gratitude, as I wonder who would make my list and whether I would start with low-hanging fruit like my husband, parents, best friend, or if the point is the randomness, of shining a light on those hidden roses who don't even know they mattered to you. Digging deep to recall those moments that someone touched you, whether accidentally or deliberately, and made a difference in your life.
And yet... While I am confident I have had these moments, I can't begin to imagine how I would find 365 of them the way Nate is doing. And somehow, despite not knowing most of the people he is posting about, I am riveted by his writing, which is powerful and moving and insightful and just so telling about the kind of person he is. It makes me sad I didn't know him better in college.
After pondering, I decided that Facebook is just too public for me. While there are benefits to shining that spotlight, I prefer to write in (relative) anonymity here on the blog, which doesn't have a following. Maybe some of these posts will be reposted, who knows.
Today I am grateful for the NBC bureau chief in DC in 1999. Whose name I can't even recall, but hopefully it will come to me. Brady... Something. Brady Daniels (thank you Google). Who answered the phone when a senior in college called his direct line and actually spoke to me. I can picture myself in my room at college, calling through a spreadsheet of people I had sent resumes to. It was mid-morning and I had included a line in all of my cover letters that said "I will call you" – as the career counselors suggested. So I felt like I had to do it. And I called NBC and asked for Brady, and he answered. So I introduced myself and said I was coming down to Washington, and he offered to meet with me. It was the start of my entire career. I'm sure I would have found another way into TV, but this was the direct route. When I met him, he introduced me to the head of MSNBC at the time (she may have had another title), who lured me away from CNN after I had been there for 6 months, to work with Andrea Mitchell. Who knows how I would have navigated in, had Brady not answered that call. Each of these small moments in one's history loom large in her own personal narrative.
But what's amazing is that this was a nothing decision for him. He picked up the phone and chose to speak with me. How often do we make that decision, rather than letting it go to voicemail if we don't recognize the phone number, then forgetting (or choosing not) to return the call to the bold young person who leaves a message? I'm quite certain that as NBC's bureau chief for what is the second largest market, he was a busy guy. But he still made time for an optimistic young up-and-comer – a decision we can all learn from.
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