This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.

It is the morning of Thanksgiving. Your house is a hot mess. Your mom is yelling at you to clean your room. The oven is running on overdrive and the fridge won’t close. Sound familiar? I feel like this is a common scene on Thanksgiving Day. Volunteering to host Thanksgiving dinner is just a nightmare.

As someone who can’t cook due to previous experiences that include burning food and cutting my fingers, I have been given the luxurious role of cleaning the house and giving the address to my relatives. However, as a bystander, I can definitely see everything that goes into making Thanksgiving dinner, and it ain’t pretty.

Food is definitely such a huge part of Thanksgiving. It brings people together to spend time together, eat good food and simply be in each other’s presence. But, the process of making food is such a stressful ordeal. Families fight over cooking the perfect turkey, having a super aesthetic spread of food or providing the best side dishes. All this fighting over food? On Thanksgiving Day? It seems a little ironic to me.

Food should be something that brings joy and satisfaction, but instead, it leads to fighting and discontentment. This takes away from what Thanksgiving Day is supposed to be about – giving thanks. Even if it is not the most ideal side dish or the best looking turkey, be grateful that it is there. Be grateful that there’s even food on the table or that there’s even a family to eat it with.

Thanksgiving Day is such a special day, which shouldn’t be characterized by hair-tearing, yelling and being upset. Rather, it should be one in which you express your thankfulness that you can spend another Thanksgiving with your family.

So much is taken for granted and we don’t realize how short life can be. It is such a blessing to be able to eat good food, live under a roof, spend time with family and, simply, to be alive.

This Thanksgiving, I challenge you to help in the kitchen instead of taking on an easier role. Cooking in itself can be seen as bonding time with whoever may be cooking in the kitchen. I also challenge you to verbally express your gratitude to your family and friends. Be mindful of the blessings you have and remember the purpose of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving: Thank The Person, Not The Turkey

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