Happy Thanksgiving, Lenape! I know we’re all excited about the four-day weekend, but what else do we have to be thankful for? There’s so much going on around the world and within our lives that we stress about instead of celebrating the people and things in our lives that we are grateful for. This Thanksgiving, make sure you take a couple of minutes to reflect on the good in your life. To inspire you, here are some things Lenape students said they are thankful for:

1. Family and Friends

Of course, a common thing everyone agreed on was that they are thankful for their family and friends. Two people said they were thankful for the “three f’s” (although they had different opinions on what the third “f” is); while they both agree the first two “f’s” are friends and family, Aaditi Vinod’s third “f” is four-day weekends, and Shannon Keane’s third “f” is food. Those are both very good choices… maybe there are four “f’s”!

Other juniors, including Valeria Sandoval Cuervo, Scarlet Chen, Tanish Gupta, Anjela Anand, Bella Cao, Sami DeLisi, Rose Petta, and Sehaj Kaur, agree that family and friends are important things to be thankful for. A few of their reasonings include Anjela’s gratefulness for having family and friends she can be herself around, Scarlet’s appreciativeness for friends that make her smile every day, and Valeria’s thankfulness for “loving parents who put [her] needs above their own every single time, a brother who makes [her] laugh, and friends who inspire [her].”

I completely agree with everyone! Family and friends are such important aspects of life. However, we tend to overlook them because of their constant presence in our lives. So, take the chance this Thanksgiving to tell your friends and family that you are grateful for them, their love, and everything they do for you.

2. Teachers and Staff Members

Malak El-Badawi is thankful for her Lenape teachers who are understanding. I definitely agree with Malak; teachers are a vital part of Lenape. They make school a safe and comfortable environment, and of course, they teach us. Teachers can also be our confidants and people we go to when we need help.

Other people we should be thankful for are our school’s other staff members, such as the custodian staff, security team, lunch staff, and administration team (and many more)! These individuals are just as important and essential to our schools as teachers are. They don’t receive as much recognition as they deserve, as we don’t get many chances to say “thank you” to them. So, if you see a staff member in the hall, don’t be afraid to thank them! Let them know you appreciate and recognize all of their hard work because I guarantee it’ll make their day.

If you want to express your gratitude to Lenape staff members, you can also fill out a Google Form! During this Thanksgiving season, Lenape is hosting “Letters of Gratitude”, where you can send messages to any Lenape staff member by filling out a Google Form. All you have to do is select the staff member you wish to write to, and include your letter. Lenape does the rest! I know it might seem simple, but something small can make someone’s day. I sent personal messages to all of my teachers and Lenape’s special teams (like the custodian staff, lunch staff, administration staff, and security team), and I encourage you to do the same! If you would like to give thanks to a Lenape staff member, fill out this form: Lenape Letters of Gratitude. You can fill it out multiple times for different people!

 3. Everything

Of course, there are so many things in this world to be thankful for. It would be impossible to name them all, but here are a couple of things Lenape students said. Praveen Prabaharan said he is thankful for clean water (which, with all the water scandals occurring in different states, is definitely something to be thankful for). Kennedy Dancy is thankful for her dog, and Victoria Bollar is thankful for sleep. I’m sure everyone reading this article is thankful for their pets (if they have any) and getting to sleep-in this four-day weekend.

This Thanksgiving, make sure to reflect on everything you are thankful for and express your gratitude to those in your life! Whether it’s through a hug, message, Letter of Gratitude, or a simple “thank you,” let the people in your life know you care about them and are grateful for their existence. Have a great Thanksgiving, Lenape!