Thanksgiving is a great holiday for many reasons. First of all, you get out of school for a few days and you get to eat as much as you want without judgment—and it’s all delicious, lovingly prepared food. Who doesn’t love piles of turkey and mashed potatoes? Or sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie?
Then, you get to sit back after a great meal to watch some football, hang out with relatives, or sleep. Pretty great, if I do say so myself. Beyond that, however, Thanksgiving is great because it gives family a chance to come together and remember something really important: to be thankful.
To some, Thanksgiving might become all about delicious food or getting wrapped up in the excitement surrounding Black Friday shopping, but that’s forgetting the most important part of the holiday—giving thanks. After all, a reminder to give thanks is right in the name of the holiday! That’s really one of the great things about the holiday.
Thanksgiving not only gives us a reminder to give thanks, but also gives us a time and opportunity to take a break from daily activities and sit back, relax, and truly reflect on all the wonderful things in our lives.
This reminder to be thankful is really important because between school, work, homework and other assignments, tests, sports, friends, family, and more, life can get pretty busy. It’s definitely hard to juggle everything, and it’s easy to lose sight of how good you may have it. Sure, life may not be perfect—it rarely is—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good things worth noticing and remembering in life.
Because we’re so busy so frequently, we don’t take the time to adequately appreciate the life we’re living and the world around us. I know I’m guilty of this, and while I’m not proud of it, I’ll openly admit it.
On Thanksgiving, I always try to make sure to think about how lucky I am and how much I have to be thankful for. It helps me focus on the good things in life and rid myself of some of the stress and unimportant things that are stealing my attention. But like I said, I don’t do this all the time. And that is something I want to change, and I think everyone should want to change as well. Giving thanks on Thanksgiving is great, and something we should all do, but it’s not enough.
It’s time we remember to give thanks every day, not just on one day a year set aside for such. Tell your family how much you love and appreciate them. Tell your friends how great they are and how they help turn your bad days around.
When you’re in the middle of a 10-page paper and you just want to give up and drop out of school, remember how lucky you are to be receiving an amazing education (okay, I know that one’s a little difficult, especially here right before finals).
No matter what, just appreciate the world around you and let your loved ones know they’re loved. Things aren’t always perfect, or even good, but there’s still so much to be thankful for. Don’t miss your chance to show your thanks, give it out every day.
