I'm not by any stretch the world's poster child of volunteering or helping. I know better than anyone else that I can be a bit of a brat in the way that I can take what I have for granted and not think twice about arguing to get my way. And while I will admit to my faults, I can still say that I care enough to forfeit some of my time to help someone less fortunate.

It never really occurred to me how special Thanksgiving is to me until I got older and appreciated my family more, especially this year seeing as it's my first time living away from home. And I guess it also never occurred to me that there are people, and entire families who are unable to celebrate Thanksgiving in the way most of us picture it: the food, the decorations, the atmosphere. Which is why I'm so thankful of my dad for making me help out on Thanksgiving morning, because it's now one of my favorite things.
For the past few years my family and I have gone to our local Salvation Army and helped to prepare meals for people who are less fortunate. We go and deliver the meals, and it shows me just how lucky I am with all that I've been given. These people often times live in homes that are more sheds than houses, or in a building of apartments for people similar to themselves that have no place else they can live. Visiting them and just talking to them for that minute is eye-opening and can be life changing if you allow it to be.
And I'm not saying you have to go to your Salvation Army and do this every Thanksgiving by any stretch of the imagination, but I challenge you to use Thanksgiving as a reason to truly appreciate all the great things you've been given in life. And I really challenge you to not limit it to only on Thanksgiving, but everyday of the year. You should be grateful everyday of the year, because you my friend, have been given so many special things.