**The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools**
There’s a real argument to be made that Thanksgiving is not only one of the most underappreciated holidays celebrated in the United States but also one of the best. It has the unfortunate fate of being stuck between Halloween and Christmas, and due to the laid-back nature of the holiday in comparison to these other two major celebrations, it’s kind of easy to forget. Rarely do you see your neighbors go all-out decorating Thanksgiving like they would around Halloween or Christmas; at most, some will set out a pumpkin (likely left over from Halloween) on the front porch. But in spite of its understated and muted nature, Thanksgiving truly has its own special charm. For one, it easily has the best food out of any American holiday (though depending on your age, Halloween might give it a run for its money). Thanksgiving weather is also truly wonderful; nestled toward the end of autumn, it serves as one of the last points of bearable, lovely weather before temperatures drop and the air becomes bitter and cold. But more than anything else, what makes Thanksgiving so special is that, at its core, the holiday encourages us to reflect: it encourages us to look back and analyze the things that make our lives what they are, and on top of that, it encourages us to express our gratitude for them. It’s a time to count your blessings, something that, like Thanksgiving itself, can be easy to forget sometimes, because there are few other times during the year that encourage such behavior.
I started this article by interviewing around twenty-five Vestavia Hills High School students, each time asking the same question: “What are you most thankful for this year, and why are you thankful for it?” I anticipated a variety of responses, but I was a little surprised as I was interviewing when I realized that almost everyone was saying the same thing: their friendships. Obvious though it seems, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit curious as to why this was the case. Why was it that almost every student responded the same? What exactly made friendships so special over equally important things like family, security, and well-being? I knew I had to analyze what exactly set friendship apart.
I’ll note here that not everyone responded the same. There were a good number of students who stated that they were chiefly thankful for their families, an obviously understandable choice. Others stated they were thankful most for the Vestavia school system and the security and privileges that the school provided for them, both academically and personally. In a rather unique reply, one student indicated that he was most grateful for his ability “to spend time at home and not have to do anything”. Another student said that he was especially grateful for his position as a leader of a prominent school club because it had not only helped him tremendously in applying to colleges but had also taught him valuable lessons in leadership and communication with others.
But the overwhelming majority of responses mentioned friendships exclusively. Again, this is not shocking, earth-shattering information, but the variety of reasons students gave for why they were most thankful for their friends was interesting. One student said that the new friends he had recently made were helping him finish out his senior year of high school happier than ever before; conversely, another student said that he felt grateful for “the ones that had been there since day one”. Some students turned to religion because of their friend’s advice, while others developed new passions or hobbies as a result of hanging out with their friends. Some students were simply happy that their truest friends were there for them through thick and thin, good and bad. Regardless of the exact reasons why these students stated they were grateful for their friends, nearly everyone concurred that their friends had positively impacted their lives greatly.
Woodrow Wilson once said that “friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together”; I think this quote perfectly encapsulates why practicing gratitude and being thankful for our friendships is important. Friends are a vital reminder that in this life, you’re never really alone and that you’ll always have someone in your corner. In this day and age, life is more fast-paced than ever before; rarely do we get a chance to reflect on what truly makes our lives worthwhile. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do so. So this year, I urge you to not only reflect on the things and the people that bring joy to your life but also to show your gratitude, particularly for your friends - because at the end of the day, it’s the friendships we make that shape us most.
Bình luận