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Reasons To Be Thankful

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. What are you thankful for?

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Reasons To Be Thankful
Caroline Alderson

Since the election has passed, we have been so consumed with the media and negativity. We must not forget what we are thankful for during Thanksgiving.

Thankful (adjective) - pleased and relieved

When someone asks me what I am thankful for, I usually respond in a cliché way and say "family and friends." But do I really know what it means to be thankful?

When I looked at the definition of thankful, I noticed it says pleased and relieved. When I think of being pleased, I think of being satisfied with where I am at in my life today. Being relieved, to me, means having no stress in my life currently. I am constantly bombarded with school work and problems in my personal life to never be relieved of anything. But when I think of being thankful, I have a ton of reasons why I should be thankful.

The most important thing I am thankful for is having a family that I know I can always lean on in times of trouble. Recently, there has been a lot of tragedy happen across my state, Mississippi. There have been so many teen deaths that have made me realize how thankful I am to be alive and have the family I have. I have some friends who constantly miss a parent who is no longer with them anymore, and it makes me cherish mine even more.

I am also so thankful for the opportunity to get a college degree. There are so many people in America and across the world who are not able to get a college degree. I never really thought of this as something to be thankful for because everyone I know was able to get a college degree. Recently, I was told that only 65 percent of Americans have attended college or is currently in college right now. This is a huge percentage, but what about the other 35%? There are many people who can't afford college or just don't want to attend. Thankfully, I am able to attend college without having to pay for my tuition.

Another reason to be thankful for is having a place to stay and a plate with food on my table. This might be a cliché reason to be thankful for, but have you ever really thought about how many people don't have a place to live and a plate of food on their table? 564,708 people are homeless in the United States. Every Thanksgiving, my mom and I feed the homeless and it is the most humbling experience. To see people my age, homeless and eating a plate of food, who have probably not had a meal in forever, makes you realize how thankful you are.

After reading this, I hope you realize how thankful you are by thinking of reasons to be thankful for yourself.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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