Life experiences are opportunities for the Thanksgiving holiday

Jennah Rose English-Welch

I have an honest confession to make. I hate Thanksgiving. Sorry. Mea culpa and all. But I really don’t like it.
It’s not so much that I don’t like the holiday itself: I can’t stand the food.

I don’t like turkey. I loathe stuffing. I tolerate ham (if it’s even there, and not honey-glazed or with pineapples).
And no, I don’t like pumpkin pie, or sweet potato pie, or any other pie for that matter.

Yes, I confess that I am a Thanksgiving Scrooge. But there’s an aspect of Thanksgiving I do like. However, it’s very rarely attributed to the holiday festivities and traditions.

I love this concept of setting aside a day of the year to “give thanks” for all the good things in our lives.

So I’ve been looking back over the past year in an effort to change my perspective on this vile, turkey-fueled, football crazed observance. What can I be thankful for? What will make “Thanksgiving Day” worth it?

The list is simply outstanding, and I could never begin to touch it all here. But there are a few things that stand out.

1.) I am overwhelmingly thankful for my adopted parents. No words could ever justify the life-changing aspect of taking someone who was virtually an orphan and handing her over to open arms and unconditional love. I have known Joe and Dana for only a year and a half, but in that short time we’ve vindicated yesterday, redeemed today, and invested hope for tomorrow—and in the process, built a family. Joe and Dana, Mom and Dad, I love you more than you could ever know.

2.) I’m thankful for my Sunday school class, comprised of people right at retirement age and on; a group of hard-core Southern Baptists who accepted into their midst a twenty-something college student with bright pink hair, a do-it-yourself nose ring, and tattoos to rival any sailor. In the year and a half since I’ve known them, we’ve gone from classmates to extended family. And let’s just say that now, with the constant and far-reaching gaze of knowing parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, it’s virtually impossible for me to get into any trouble!

3.) I’m thankful for my (geriatric, columnist, English major) friends—you know who you are.

4.) I’m thankful to finally consider myself a part of UT-Tyler. This first semester has been challenging, but I am still blown away by how accommodating the staff is, and how interested in my education, talents, and future my instructors and advisors are. Not to mention that, when we’re not row-boating to class, this campus is spectacular! And I cannot get over how friendly the students are to one-another. I am proud and honored to be a part of such an incredible atmosphere.

5.) Of course, I can’t forget the “little” things: black coffee with organic whole milk, the ducks on Harvey Lake, sunrises and sunsets, country music, NCIS, text messages, and of course, British Literature. Sure, it’s all simple and rather silly, but what would life be like without all the silly little things that make us smile? So this year on Thanksgiving—whether you’re like me and have a hard time swallowing it, or you absolutely adore it—why not take a few minutes to really do justice to the holiday’s name and “give thanks” for all those things—whether big or small or somewhere in between—that make your life worth the living.