first world pains.

I woke up this morning at my usual 5:45am, rolled over, and felt annoyed at the thought of dragging myself out of my toasty king sized bed. I should just skip my run, I thought to myself knowing full well what the weather was supposed to be like. No, I can't do that; I have to just stick to my training plan. So I rolled my eyes, lifted the blankets, and sighed heavily at the current situation. As I do every Thursday morning, I walked over to the window. I held my breath as I drew back a tiny corner of the curtain and peered outside. Much to my dismay, it was exactly as I predicted it would be; 29 degrees, dark, and a ground covered in snow and ice. I wanted so badly to gear up and do my usual Thursday morning run outside, headlamp on, and adrenaline pumping. Sidewalks weren't plowed, and with it being so dark in the mornings lately, I was worried I'd slip on some ice and injure myself. So all in a tizzy, I grabbed my sneakers and trekked on over to the gym, sporting my winter boots and jacket cursing the whole way. I had a case of the "First World Pains."

Recently, I stumbled upon a Twitter feed (@firstworldpains) that has now made me reconsider how I treated my first 15 minutes of being awake this morning. This feed is centered around mocking how ridiculous the people of the "First World" sound when they complain about their daily trials and tribulations. In reality, the "issues" that those of us residing in the First World face are bleak in comparison to what most of the population has to fight for every day. The ongoing quest for basic needs; a place to sleep, access to heat and air conditioning, food on the table, employment, a place to live, an income, access to healthcare and clean drinking water, the ability to communicate regularly with loved ones via phone and internet, access to transportation, and just feeling safe and secure. These are all things we, in the First World, too often take for granted. And when we take a minute to slow down and consider just how blessed we truly are, our daily problems seem miniscule...And laughable, according to the folks behind this Twitter feed:

I have to clean the kitchen instead of watching Netflix all day. #firstworldpains

There's too much syrup in my Starbucks latte. #firstworldpains

There are no good shows on television. #firstworldpains

After a nice facial yesterday, I woke up with a huge zit. #firstworldpains

My online order is going to take 7-10 days to ship. #firstworldpains

I'm really hungry, but nothing sounds good. #firstworldpains

I have "nothing" to wear. #firstworldpains

For my birthday, my parents got me a Droid instead of an Iphone. #firstworldpains

I have to go to work in the morning. #firstworldpains

My mom just bought groceries and there still isn't anything good to eat. #firstworldpains

My steak at the restaurant was totally overcooked. #firstworldpains

My sister is calling during my favorite TV show. #firstworldpains

I forgot where I parked my car in this mall's parking lot. #firstworldpains

My mom packed me a vanilla pudding, when I wanted chocolate. #firstworldpains

My backpack is too heavy from all my textbooks. #firstworldpains

Champagne gives me a headache. #firstworldpains

Having the heater on makes my throat so dry. #firstworldpains

I can't print my paper because my printer is out of ink. #firstworldpains

My satellite radio subscription expired while I was driving. #firstworldpains

I ordered Coke, but they brought me Pepsi. #firstworldpains

I had to go out in the cold to vote. #firstworldpains

I just memorized my debit card number and the bank sent me a new one. #firstworldpains

I forgot to put on deodorant today. #firstworldpains 

We're out of milk for my cereal. #firstworldpains

My web browser won't offer to remember my password. #firstworldpains

My dishwasher doesn't clean things perfectly. #firstworldpains

A foot-long Subway sub is too big for me, but the 6" leaves me hungry. #firstworldpains

The vending machine gave me Starburst when I asked for Skittles. #firstworldpains

My favorite show is a rerun tonight. #firstworldpains

My CC sticks to my my Iphone when I have them in the same pocket. #firstworldpains

All the food in my fridge spoiled because I bought way too much. #firstworldpains

My landscapers woke me up again this morning. #firstworldpains

My gum flavor runs out too fast. #firstworldpains

I always finish my shampoo before my conditioner. #firstworldpains

My radar detector only works on certain cop cars. #firstworldpains

I'm starving, but the kitchen is all the way downstairs. #firstworldpains

My arm is sore from playing Wii baseball. #firstworldpains

My parents are threatening to take my car away because of bad grades. #firstworldpains

I have to go to the Dentist. #firstworldpains

I can't think of anything I want for Christmas. #firstworldpains 

I had to wait 5 minutes for my car window to defrost. #firstworldpains

I have more shirts than hangers. #firstworldpains 

I dropped 17 cents, but refuse to pick it up. #firstworldpains

There is a dead bee in the swimming pool. #firstworldpains

Both bathrooms in my house are occupied and I have to go. #firstworldpains

All the groceries won't fit in the fridge. #firstworldpains

I don't have enough cheese for my crackers. #firstworldpains

The escalator at the mall is broken. #firstworldpains

I got a speeding ticket. #firstworldpains

I only have 10 minutes to shower. #firstworldpains

One of my headphone speakers doesn't work. #firstworldpains

I had to sit next to a stranger in the movie theater. #firstworldpains

This glass of water is unfiltered. #firstworldpains

Our new apartment is so big that we don't have enough furniture to fill it. #firstworldpains

The automatic toilet flushed before I was done. #firstworldpains

My car broke down, so I have to ride the bus to work. #firstworldpains 

The last sip of my cup of coffee had coffee grounds in it. #firstworldpains

A good song just came on the radio, but I have reached my destination. #firstworldpains

My school uniform doesn't look good with my new hair color. #firstworldpains

My parents made me hand write thank-you notes after my party. #firstworldpains

I finally have a day off of work and the cable is out. #firstworldpains

They didn't have my brand of peanut butter at the supermarket. #firstworldpains

I have to do laundry, but we ran out of dryer sheets. #firstworldpains 

Are you guilty? As much as we may get a good laugh about how pathetic we sound, the guys behind this idea were not so far off from some pretty serious food-for-thought. Don't lose sight of what's really important in life. We spend so much of our time complaining about the silliest and smallest things, when instead we should be remembering how lucky we are to have access to the things we have. When put this way, my morning seems like nothing. A king sized bed? Warm blankets? A gym membership? Running shoes? Winter boots? A jacket? My health? My ability to run? A lucky girl I truly am.