Thanksgiving is fast approaching, the semester is coming to an end, and everyone is more stressed than ever. But don't worry, Thanksgiving is coming! The time has come to watch the Macy's Parade, watch a football game, shop 'til you drop, throw it down in the kitchen, and eat yourself into a food coma. It's also the time to be thankful, but that's not that important, right? Over the years, Thanksgiving has become less about being thankful and more about making sure you get the best deals at stores. Everyone is in a hurry to finish eating so they can go do something else. Thanksgiving has lost its meaning. It's hard to be thankful for everyday things when we're aren't thankful for them every day. So what does it mean to be truly thankful? How do we put the thanks back into Thanksgiving.

It's simple. First we have to address what the meaning of thanksgiving is. According to Dictionary.com, thanksgiving is "the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God." Notice how this definition doesn't say "the act of giving thanks on one day out of the year." The holiday of Thanksgiving and actual thanksgiving are two different things. Just because it isn't Thanksgiving doesn't mean you can't be thankful. The moment November hits everyone starts saying what they are thankful for: their parents, their job, their house, etc. But what about the other 11 months of the year? Are you remembering to be thankful then?

Here's the thing, we can't just be thankful during November. There is so much to be thankful for. When you wake up every day, before your feet even touch the floor, find at least three things to be thankful for. It doesn't have to be something elaborate, it can be as simple as the snooze button on your alarm. Be thankful for the little things in life. See the beauty in everything because everything is a blessing. When you start to become thankful for small things in life your outlook on life begins to change.

Thanksgiving is about being thankful but it what it truly means to be thankful is to be appreciative. You don't need big meals and sweet deals to be thankful. All you need is to appreciate life and the people around you. Thanksgiving is not supposed to be a day where you remember to be thankful for stuff, but a reminder of all the things you are thankful for every day. Life is busy and sometimes it's easy to forget all the great things we have. When life gets stressful and it seems like everything is bad it can be hard to find something to be thankful for. But life is a gift and for that we should be thankful.