My roommate looked at me on Halloween, and she said: “Tomorrow, I’m taking down my pumpkins, and I putting up my little tree.” As soon as midnight strikes on November 1st, the countdown to Christmas begins. You see it on social media, television, and even in your own home.

However, society is starting to forget one of the most important holidays there is…Thanksgiving! I love Christmas just as much as if not more than anyone else.

Yet, Thanksgiving still holds true to my heart. It is one of my favorite holidays. I feel bad for saying that I love it more than Christmas, but lately, I have considered it my favorite day of the year.

Thanksgiving isn’t about the food. Yes, the food is great, and I look forward to the feast every year. However, the day is its name. It’s a day of thanksgiving. It’s a day to be thankful.

It is easy to get wrapped up in a busy life. It is easy to forget how blessed you are. I get it. I have finals coming up, I’m stressed, and I can’t stop thinking about Christmas either. The gifts, the joy, the celebration of Christ all consume my thoughts.

I stop myself because to be thankful is dying out. It breaks my heart to hear people not say ‘thank you’ anymore.

People believe that there isn’t a need because they have earned it. They don’t need to be thankful for someone opening their door because they, themselves, have opened so many doors before. They don’t need to be thankful for their job because they worked hard for it. They don’t need to be thankful for that ‘A’ because they studied for it.

This is a mindset that needs to change. Thanksgiving is a day to remind you of everything that you have been blessed with. It is to remind you that God has been there for you, blessing you immensely every step of the way.

Yes, enjoy the food. Enjoy the company on this day. Enjoy football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I know I will because it is a tradition.

I hope you wake up on Thanksgiving with a heavy heart knowing how thankful you ought to be. There are people in the world that do not have the rights and freedoms that you possess. We live in a country that offers a life that people from other countries can only dream of.

Look around at the dinner table, see your loved ones. Your family and your friends that are your entire world. If you are the one that has the privilege to prepare the meal, bless it. Thank God for allowing you to have access to so much food. There are countries that would cry in the presence of just a simple side dish.

If you happen to have to work on Thanksgiving, be thankful that you are able to work. Be thankful that you are capable to earn a salary.

Above all, be thankful that you were able to wake up and be with the people you love. You never know when it will be the last.