Thanksgiving Reflection

I believe that each families Thanksgiving is different compared to the next one. Everyone has there own traditions from where they celebrate, what they eat, how they dress and much more. Some may celebrate it and some may not at all and treat it like another regular day. It all depends primarily on who you ask. But for my families Thanksgiving it usually the same every year. Some may say it is kind of like a typical Thanksgiving for some families with a few changes here and there.. What we usually do first is we decide where we are going to celebrate it. For many years we’ve chosen halls to celebrate in. Once we choose a place we then decide and talk through who is bringing what to eat.  Some bring desserts, some bring appetizers, and the rest bring the courses for the Thanksgiving meal. Now once everything is set up and ready in the hall we then begin to eat. We set up trays and pans and get in line and go around the tables to get the food. While everybody eats my uncle who is a DJ plays all types of music while we eat and talk. After about an hour and everyone eats and is finished we dance a little bit to the music. Then a little tradition we have is to section our family up and talk about any new comers or babies that have been added to the family. We introduce each other to the rest of the family and things of that nature. After introducing ourselves we then sing happy birthday to anyone whose birthday it might be today and then head off to eat our desserts. We finally converse for a little bit longer then say our good byes and clean up and head on our way to see each other next time. I love thanksgiving with my family because it gives us a chance to catchup and also meet to family members so its always a great experience every year.

Thanksgiving? No thanks.

For a while now, I’ve come to not care for Thanksgiving. It’s the one time of the year where everyone is supposed to come together and give thanks for everything and everyone in their life, but my family does the complete opposite. We treat it as if it’s a normal day but with extra food. For as long as I can remember it has always been difficult for most of my family outside of New Jersey to come together to celebrate a common holiday where you are supposed to come together and give thanks.

Since my family doesn’t really see Thanksgiving as a holiday of much celebration, we don’t sit around a table giving thanks to everyone and showing everyone how much they are appreciated. Instead, we serve ourselves our “Thanksgiving dinner” and leave to eat in the privacy of our rooms. It’s not so much that I hate Thanksgiving, I just see no point in celebrating it. My brother is married so he celebrates Thanksgiving with his wife’s family, my sister recently moved back to her mother’s house so she celebrates with them, and I sit at home stuffing my face with pernil and rice since I hate turkey. Thanksgiving just isn’t the same as I could remember it when I was younger.

I remember my family would all come together and have a big dinner with everyone laughing and eating at the dinner table, enjoying each other’s company. But I guess over the years it’s become difficult to travel to my house since they have other families to spend Thanksgiving with, such as their spouse’s.

Although I don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, that doesn’t mean I’m not thankful for what I have. I’m thankful for the loving family and friends I have in my life. I’m also extremely thankful to live a happy and healthy life. Sometimes Thanksgiving isn’t completely about celebrating and eating massive plates of food, it’s about remembering what you have been blessed with in your life and being thankful for the fact that you have that.

A Life Plan for the Holidays!

The only reason I love the holidays is because all my family members are cooking and the food is absolutely delicious. Sure, we also get to reunite and give thanks for each other. But there are too many downsides to the holidays this year. I am finally going to be considered an adult (kind of) this year because I will be turning eighteen. To my family, eighteen means that I am old enough to have a boyfriend and it is an age where I should have my life planned out already.

The questions that I absolutely hate will be asked by every aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparent, and family friend. And it will go something like this:

“Christi, mija, do you have a boyfriend? Oh come on! You can tell me! Is he cute? What’s his name?”

I will say, “No, no boyfriend.” Which will then lead them to conclude:

“Oh, so a girlfriend? It’s okay, we still love you.”

And I will say,” No, I am not a lesbian. I like males. I would just like to be single right now. I’m focusing on my studies.” (And I don’t know why but I always do this to myself) Then they’ll ask:

“Oh, right! What are you planning on studying?”

I don’t know what is worse, saying that I’m undecided or saying a major that doesn’t involve being a doctor, scientist, engineer, or lawyer. Either way, I always get the fakest smile along with a polite but disappointed :

“Oh wow! That’s so great, mija! Your parents must be very proud of you.”

And that would end the 5 minute conversation from hell. I wouldn’t mind having this conversation if my answers to the questions would be acceptable no matter what. I thought the holidays were for gathering together and having a good time. Not prying into other people’s lives. But since they are my family and I love them so much, I guess all I ask for the holidays is my life planned out and food. Lots of food.

Thanksgiving

If you were to look up the meaning of Thanksgiving you would find many different meanings. Many people celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways such as Canada China and Korea. Many people view this holiday to be American when in reality it’s celebrated all over the world. But what all countries have in common is it’s a time to come together and just be thankful for everything you have whether it’s your family, or your health or all the above. With my family we all come together and have a big dinner and just talk about how our year went and everything we are thankful for. Somebody once said “Happiness isn’t about getting what you want all the time, it’s all about loving what you have and being grateful for it.”

In Canada Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second week of October. Although they celebrate it on a different day they still have the same type of food such as turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cranberry sauce. They also have parades in Canada, even though they aren’t as common like they are here in America. Canadians still get the 3 day weekend but they call it autumn brake. Another difference between the two holidays is theirs is on a Monday and ours are on a Thursday.

As you can see many people celebrate holidays in numerous ways. But we all come together to appreciate everything we have in our lives. Another quote is ” Life is full of give and take, and take nothing for granted.” This quote represents being thankful because everybody always wants and nobody wants to give. And at the end of the day your not grateful for the stuff you have you always want more. Therefore Thanksgiving is a great holiday to come together and just forget about all the stuff going on and appreciate everything that has gone right.

 

Thanksgiving Review

Thanksgiving is coming up and everyone is getting ready for the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a good holiday where you and your family can spend time together and talk about future plans such as marriage, engagement , and more. The most important thing about thanksgiving is to be grateful for what you have , and remember how in other poor countries there are other families that do not have enough money for a nice thanksgiving dinner or have money for food in general and clothes and shoes. These are things that we might want to take seriously. The word thanks is in Thanksgiving, which means to me giving thanks for what we have. Now, in this generation thanksgiving consist of going to black friday shopping the day after. Most people would not have a dinner for Thanksgiving and wait in a line at the store all night in the cold. But it should not be like that. when i was growing in the Thanksgiving tradition, my family and i would have dinner together and then on black friday we would go out to shop. In my family its not as big as others because half of my family lives far from us, so it is just me , my little brother, my mom, aunt, and grandma. We enjoy Thanksgiving just like other families. In our culture we have a turkey and ham dinner with other food, and we talk about future goals we all have. We really do not go black friday shopping, it is really rare if we do go. But most importantly we all have a good time together just like everyone else. Thanksgiving is a good holiday to be with family and enjoy the time you have with them.

Thanksgiving…

With the holidays approaching around the corner, it seems to get harder and harder for me not to feel like something is missing every single Thanksgiving along with the rest of the holidays.

I can’t remember when Thanksgiving actually felt like Thanksgiving. Every time this day comes each year, my family never actually sits at a table together. Instead my family sits in front of a tv waiting until it gets late and it’s time to clean up.We never really talk about anything special or have the “what you’re thankful for” speech. Of course, there is your typical turkey and mashed potatoes but continuously I feel as though I have a hole in my heart. And once I actually decide to act on the feeling I go to my room and call my dad. I wish him a happy Thanksgiving and listen as he explains to me how his new family is doing and how he spent his holiday without me. I guess it’s then that I realize that no holiday will ever be the same since my dad left. And as I try my hardest to hold back my tears and not explain how I really feel inside, I tell my dad I have to go and hang up the phone. I make that phone call every single holiday, and I always feel the same way each and every year. A phone call doesn’t help the fact that I miss having my dad around all the time. As much as I mature or grow each each year, that situation always hits me hard on the holidays.

When people ask what I do for the holidays I always say “the same thing as last year”, which is true. The same thing, which includes feeling like I will never feel truly happy celebrating a holiday without having my dad around. I doubt that feeling will ever go away as the years go by.

The holidays.

Every year on thanksgiving we would spend it at my uncle’s house.  There are two turkeys made, and pork is served as well. Everyone contributes to the table. Whether it is a salad or bringing desert. This year will be great to talk about how Barcelona absolutely trashed Real Madrid 4-0 in Madrid.

But Thanksgiving dinner is a little confusing for me this year, because I am approaching that age where I have more in common with the adults than my younger cousins. I have recently begun to talk to my aunts and uncles more because they can relate more to me than my younger cousins can with situations in my personal life. I have bonded with my father in a new way too. Before he would just give me advice, but now he actually talks to me as if I am his friend. This year’s dinner could be a great way for me to bond with the older members of the family.

There are a lot of things to be grateful for each year, but I am extremely grateful this year. I am in my final year of high school, ready to take on new challenges in life, and I am socially, physically, and mentally in a great place. I have had a great year, and I will definitely remember this year to one day tell my kids when they are old enough, and I can talk to them the way my dad is able to talk to me today, as a close friend.

Thanksgiving is also a great way for the family to prepare for Christmas. Christmas is probably my favorite holiday, not because of the gifts, but because of the giving and seeing everyone in such a great mood. The food is always great. Sometimes they serve arroz con leche, but one food you can always count on to be there during the holidays in my family is Panettone. We cut up Panettone and serve hot chocolate. Right after everyone has gotten their Panettone and Hot chocolate my grandma goes right to bed. But everyone usually stays at my uncle’s house until either 3 in the morning or until the sun comes up.

This is my favorite time of the year, and it sucks that it is not celebrated like it once was. People skipping out on Thanksgiving dinner to wait in line for good deals on accessories. Kids crying on Christmas because they didn’t get the new apple product. When i was their age i got Jenga, and I loved it. It is great to have new things, but don’t let shiny objects blind you from what is really important, family.

Why I Absolutely Hate Thanksgiving and Every Family Event Ever

When I was asked to write an article about Thanksgiving and the joys that come along with it, I realized I do not enjoy Thanksgiving. Nor do I enjoy any family event that I have to go to. I do not exactly understand my hatred for the holidays. Maybe it is because I really do not like my family? I mean, I have to love them. But family parties is not my gathering to love these people.

When people think of Thanksgiving, they think of a family gathered around a table and eating a nice non-burnt turkey. When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of people crowding the second floor of a three-family building and cold, tasteless ziti.

Do not get me wrong, Thanksgiving used to be a really, really fun thing. When I was seven and it was socially acceptable to be obsessed with Bratz dolls because, I mean, I was seven-years old. Now all I have been doing for the past five or so years is sitting at a table where I constantly have to move my seat forward every five minutes to let someone through looking at my iPhone and killing its battery power.

I could totally sit in the back room with the television set and computer, but now all the children pollute that area and there is nothing more I despise than the hyper attitudes of my younger cousins. It seems as though I have no place at Thanksgiving. I am just another body taking up space in a two-hundred square feet living area.

At least I do not have to deal with the “Do you have a girlfriend?” questions anymore as my family is afraid to ask if I have a boyfriend. And if they do ask if I have a girlfriend, then I feel bad for their clueless selves. Unless they are drunk, which they probably are.

To conclude, I really hate Thanksgiving and every event where my family or people I do not like are involved. I just sit there with a cell phone and no WiFi or connection with no one to talk to because I hate everyone. I will just take my cold and sad ziti to go, thank you very much.

The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

If you wanted to get technical, you could say the true meaning of Thanksgiving to commemorate the harvest festival held by pilgrims in 1621, but that’s not really why it is celebrated today at all. Holidays are few and far between, and a lot of the time, it is the only time we take out of our “busy” schedules to spend time with family and eat a meal together. In my family, as well as many other’s, Thanksgiving means togetherness, warmth, and comfort. It’s the feeling of just getting together with people I see barely three times a year and spending a day with them to catch up on how their lives are. Sometimes, it can feel forced and uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, I know I’m lucky to have so many people who care about me.

I know that there are people around the world, and even close to home, who celebrate the holidays differently than I do. I feel fortunate enough to have everything I need in life, and even things that I don’t need, so once a year, it can be sort of a wake up call on how privileged I am for the life I live. It may not be the best, and I may not always be happy, but it’s still good. Thanksgiving means reflecting on the good and letting it outweigh the bad because the bad things in life don’t define you. Everyone has their good moments too, and you need to allow yourself to revel in them and to remember that they exist, and that is what it means to be grateful. Know that it could always be worse, and that the fact that you’re even celebrating Thanksgiving in a home shows that things aren’t as bad as they could be.

THE OUTSIDERS BANNED

There are so many reasons why I believe that the Outsiders should not be banned. First of all I think that this book helps explain that violence, drugs, and drinking alcohol is not the solution to all the problems. Another reason would be that this book shows that  every family has problems and just by joining a  gang and start smoking or drinking would not help you. The reason why this book was banned was because of religous reason. Alot of the churches in the U.S.A said that this book contained alot of violence, sex and drugs. Also ther were alot of parents that argued that the book had alot of drugs and alcohol abuse in broken homes.This book is a really good book and was based of a famous movie “THE WEST SIDE STORY” I strongly believe that this book should not be banned because all the young and older readers out there could learn a lessen and not make all the mistakes that people in the book made.