Outside the States, thanksgiving is not a thing but for the past three years, it’s been a part of my calendar. I celebrate it, and I really enjoy it. Why?
- Food
2. The few days off of school are amazing (honestly, I crave the days off more than the food).
3. SHOOOPIIING!!! Seriously, black Friday prices can turn non-shoppers into shopaholics. I was around the 34thin Manhattan and for the life of me, I couldnt last more than 10 minutes inside Uniqlo and the line to pay in GAP was at least a block long, zigzagging inside the store.
I wondered why this day was such a big deal, which leads me to my fourth reason.
- It is a time when people (in the US) pause their lives to spend one dinner with people meaningful to them. Typically, family, whoever you consider your family. I say this because I do not believe that just because you are related to someone you have love each other. If you have a terrible relationship with your parents and you just don’t love them the way society tells you is the “right way” to love your parents, you cannot force yourself to feel something you don’t.
You cannot control your feelings or your thoughts, but you can control your actions. Actions as simple as texting “how are you?” I believe that every relationship must be constructed and taken care of to maintain it. Each relationship has its own dynamic, and it’s up to the people involved to figure out the dynamic they are happy with.
After all, we do not decide where we are born. If luck, God or who/whatever you believe in put you and another person in each other’s life’s, it escaped your control but maintaining a relationship is up to us. With that said, whoever you consider your family (relatives or not) it is a time to spend with them, to reflect and say out loud how much you value them, opportunities you’ve had and anything you are thankful for. (That day, cheesiness is allowed)
I will say though, don’t wait for a day almost at the end of the year to be thankful or to tell people you are thankful either for something they did or simply because they are in your life. WHY IN THE WORLD DO WE NEED A HOLIDAY TO TELL SOMEONE THAT?! Any day is a good day. Don’t hold back hidden behind an “Im too cool for emotions” attitude because you don’t want to sound to cheesy.
I will leave you with this. Has it ever happened to you that you have a bad day or even a bad week where everything goes wrong? Literally those days when you wonder if a black cat passed in front of you or if you broke a mirror in the past seven years? A few weeks ago, I had one of those and I stopped and told myself… “say 3 things that you’re thankful for, just three good things that are going in your life” (Yes, I said them out loud. Yes, I sounded crazy) But I was a calmer and happier crazy person. This tactic turns an overwhelming situation into a bearable situation, maybe even a pleasant one you can laugh about if not then, soon.
What are you thankful for?
Attribution
Featured Image retrieved from Politico Magazine
This is not part of the post. (Thankfulness rant warning) I am thankful that my mum could come to see me during thanksgiving and that I have a job that allowed me to pay for a trip to see my siblings. I am thankful that I am close to my dad, mum, sister and brother. I am thankful they taught me by example what ethics and principles are, what the definition of hardworking is for they all are the definition of the word and what support feels like. I am thankful for the unconditional friends I have. I am thankful for the volunteering organization I am a part of that builds houses in extremely poor areas in Peru. It showed what team work is.I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be studying abroad, that I have a scholarship that allows me to do this, that I know how to read and write, that I can do so in two languages, that I have a bed to sleep in, and that I can eat food and drink water every day. I am thankful for smiles, laughs and hugs. Finally, I’m thankful for ice-cream.
VICI by RT 