Our lives consist of both the little and meaningful moments. Some of these memories may pain us, while the others bring immense joy. Regardless of what these experiences are like, we should still be thankful to them. Each and every encounter helps us become a stronger and better person. They make up who we are, and without them, we would be nothing. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to sit down and ask ourselves, who and what am I thankful for?

The first people that pop up into my mind when I hear the word ‘thankful’ are actually my grandparents. When I was still a baby, my parents would unwillingly go to work so that they could earn enough money to create a better future for me. While they exhaustedly designed programs, my grandparents would take care of me at home. My grandpa sauteed many traditional chinese dishes for me, keenly watching out for pits and other food obstacles for me, since I was still a tiny child. My grandma rolled me around in my baby carriage, and sometimes, she would point at the sky, saying, “Jenny, do you see that flying object over there? It’s an airplane. Someday you will definitely get to ride on one, and you can visit me in China when I return there.” Even though I was too young to understand anything, I could still feel how caring and observant my grandma treated me. My grandparents taught me all the basic knowledge I needed to survive in this harsh world. As their hair became more of a greyish color and their skin turned more wrinkly, their personalities also slowly started to change. My grandma started to act immensely stubborn, and my grandpa had a fiery attitude. I constantly complained to my mom about them, but I’m supposed to thank them instead of being all picky and annoying. They can sometimes make me roll my eyes, but I am so so thankful that they’re there for me when I need them. Many kids in the world have already lost their grandparents, and here I am complaining about them. Instead, I want to say, “Thank you laolao and laoye (grandma and grandpa in chinese) for molding me into the person I am today. You guys will always have a special and irreplaceable spot in my heart.”

Though the hardships we face today are the ones that make us fall and break our hearts, they are also something that make us go, “I need to get back up and continue on.” Every downfall only makes us stronger. These hurtful memories usually replay in the random moments of our lives, and it takes a long and dreadful period of time to get past them. However, constantly moping about these hurdles won’t get us anywhere, and instead, they drag us behind. I am thankful for the people that have hurt me, because they made me truly realize what forgiving people meant, and how to look at situations with an open mind. As time went by, I slowly became more aware that I am not as weak as I was before. Thank you, to all the negative people and moments in my life, without them, I wouldn’t have become the positive person I am today.

I am still thankful for so many things that I cannot currently list. I cannot express how thankful I am towards my mom, for she has told me the right and wrongs of my actions and behaviors, she would comfort me when I’m down, and take care of me with her motherly love. I thank my father for always giving me my favorite foods, even though the foods are also his favorite. He may constantly scold me, but I know deep inside my heart that it’s all for my own good. Through the actions he takes due to his temper, I learned how my temper shouldn’t be like. I also thank him for always staying behind me so that every time I tripped, he would always be there to catch me. I am thankful for the air I breathe in because without it, I wouldn’t even be alive right now. I thank my cat, Tigger, because no matter when and where, she would always be sleeping right next to me, making me not feel lonely. Finally, I thank my friends for listening to my constant rambling, lending me a shoulder to cry on when I need it, and just being there. I end this year being thankful for the experiences I had, thankful that I know I always have a choice, and thankful for the mere fact that I came into this peculiar yet amazing world.