Opinion
Thanksgiving brings thoughts on overlooked details
November 21, 2014
Finally, after two long months of classes, exams and papers, we will be allowed a break.
Thanksgiving is coming fast and is already next week. While it is important to realize that the holiday is to commemorate pilgrims coming to the U.S. to escape religious persecution, it is also one to realize that things and people you have in your life.
There are many things that each of us can be thankful for, and some things we may not even realize or think about often. That is one major challenge that we should all tackle this year: to look at the things in our lives that we often overlook.
One thing we overlook often is a working thermostat. Winter has gotten started early here in River Falls, a little too early if you ask me. Once that wind starts blowing, the walk to class or work can become brutal.
The waterfall of pain that trickles down your face is so sudden and piercing that all you want to do is get inside as soon as possible.
However, the experience is only improved if one has a working thermostat to crank up that heat. Many people do not have an adequate heating system in their place of residence, so they should never be taken for granted. And I hate to be a pessimist, but it is only going to get worse out there, folks.
We should also be thankful for our roommates. Love them or hate them, they are experiencing a lot of the same triumphs and failures you are. They are there to let you in when you accidentally lock yourself out picking up your pizza delivery. They are there to rant to when a professor gives a little too much homework or when you are frustrated with classmates.
Every roommate relationship is different and unique, and that is what makes them interesting. Whether they are horrible at dishes or leave you little pick-me-ups while you are at class, you learn to live with them and appreciate who they are. And you never know; they could end up being a friend for life.
Other things to be thankful for are ideas I gathered from a class recently. We should be thankful for the wonders of the world. It could be anything from an insect to a color’s appealing pigmentation to an ocean or a supergiant star millions of light years away.
There is still so much we do not know about the world around us; and if we just paid attention a little more, we would learn more than we could ever imagine. How deep does the ocean really go? What is happening on other planets and stars at this very second? We have a long way to go with our knowledge; but first, we must appreciate it.
This Thanksgiving, make sure to be thankful for the obvious things, such as friends, family and good food. But also don’t forget to notice the seemingly trivial things, such as roommates, classmates, heaters and the world around you.
It’s so easy to get caught up in family celebrations and traditions and forget these, but you will learn quite a lot from it and look at your life with a whole new perspective.
Cristin Dempsey is an English major and music minor from Eagan, Minn. She enjoys writing, playing the flute and swimming. After college she would like to pursue a career as an editor.