By Rebecca Fowler
Staff Writer

It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  From picking out new coats and winter wear to getting three weeks off of school, the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas brings with it a special warmth and happiness.

Though I absolutely love summertime with its nice weather and freedom, I have to say that I always look forward to the holidays as well.  I love the traditions which come with Thanksgiving, my family coming into town or mine going to theirs being at the top.  Because most of my extended family lives in the Southeast, it is a treat to see them, and I can always count on November to bring me an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones.

We do crazy things when we are together, making memories and sharing laughs that will remain with us forever.  I am thankful for Thanksgiving because it allows me to enjoy two of the best things in life at once: great family and great food.

Not only do I look forward to seeing my extended family but also the events taking place each year in my household, such as watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC in the morning and eating my homemade three-layer chocolate pie in the afternoon.  I am a sentimentalist and love carrying out the traditions which have been in place for as long as I can remember.

This year, however, there are a few occasions falling during Thanksgiving break out of the norm which I will be attending, such as the Vivace! dessert show Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21 and the playoff game at Cowboys Stadium against Plano East at 11 a.m. on Saturday.  And while these special pre-Turkey Day events will be fun ways to kick-off the holiday week, there are certain things people do before Thanksgiving that will forever be pet peeves to me.

Christmas music, for example, before Thanksgiving is simply unacceptable, lights and decorations as well.  Although I love Christmas and all its bells and whistles, I prefer to recognize and appreciate each celebration separately, rather than view Thanksgiving as a stepping stone to the “big” holiday.  As Americans, I think we often take what we have for granted and continually long for more, leading us to skim over Thanksgiving and blow Christmas up to the max—often taking away its true meaning.

Another general observation regarding Thanksgiving is the irony in spending hundreds of dollars shopping on Black Friday…the day after we have just given thanks for all we have.  The day is meant to kick-off Christmas shopping but seems to me just another proof that we are not truly grateful on the day devoted to that very emotion.  Would it not be better to dedicate the day to helping others, especially when most of us neglect the needy 363 days out of the year?

Opportunities to help others are readily available to students this year, including donating to the school Turkey Drive, packing Operation Christmas Child boxes for Hope for Africa and volunteering at the food bank.  Teenagers are often stereotyped as an extremely selfish and uncaring group, yet we at Coppell High School have so much time and so many resources to give.

Which leads me to ask, what are we really thankful for?  Yes, we usually remember to feel blessed for our families, friends, houses, cars, pets and so on.  But how often do we express gratitude for our health, city, intellect, Founding Fathers and previous leaders of our country?  When do we remember to say thanks for the teachers at our school, the shirts on our backs or the textbooks we learn from?

This Thanksgiving, let’s make an effort to really give thanks.  Let’s hold off on the Christmas excitement and the things we want and simply focus on the celebration at hand: a celebration of our free, prosperous and truly lovely lives.