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.