This column is intended to spice up your “things I’m grateful for” list this Thanksgiving. In my household–in between my mashed potato and deviled egg inhaling—everyone goes around the table and says what they are thankful for. Every year my answer is pretty much the same. “I am grateful for my family, friends and life.” While all of that is true, there are many more random things in this beautiful world that I am also thankful for that never seem to get any spotlight.
The first random things I am thankful for are toothpaste and deodorant. Think about it. Close your eyes and imagine a world where no one wears deodorant or brushes their teeth. If that were the case, the toxic smells of the human race would have probably caused the ozone layer to disintegrate and we would no longer be here. We pretty much owe deodorant and toothpaste our lives.
The second random thing I am thankful for are dollar menus. The mutual love of food is something that has bonded many a person over time. For us broke high school students, dollar menus are a gift sent from the angels above. I don’t know about you, but I think the fact that we can get a ton of tacos from Taco Bell without breaking the bank, is something to be thankful about.
The third random thing I am thankful for is Google. I honestly don’t know how our parents and teachers survived their childhood and schooling without it. Whenever I have a question, I Google it. Whenever I need a source for a paper; I Google it. Whenever I need to know how to stop hiccupping; I Google it. When I need to know how to take care of a beta fish that I bought on a whim because I was bored; I Google it. Google is a lifeline that I am tethered to. It is something we use everyday, and don’t even think twice about.
The fourth random thing I am thankful for is Netflix. Netflix is the portal that opened my eyes to American Horror Story, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. After a long day of school and work, there is noting better than curling up on the couch and turning on the TV show of the month.
The fifth random thing that I’m thankful for is the opportunity to live in Kansas City. Granted it’s no LA or New York, but it is still deserving of some appreciation. Not only does Kansas City have sports teams worth watching, it also has cool events like art fairs, First Fridays, the West Bottom’s haunted houses and the list goes on. Kansas City is also filled with some of my favorite things like little coffee shops and bookstores. If this city is still not an interesting enough place for you, then you can just be grateful that you don’t live in the middle of Montana.
The final thing I am thankful for is Thanksgiving. I am thankful that those Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down and ate together at the 1621 harvest meal. If that wouldn’t have happened, I would not be writing this column and more importantly, there would not be a holiday specifically for feasting, family and thankfulness.
I hope this column helps you come up with more things to be thankful for than the traditional sayings. Although they can sometimes be random, everyone has things they should be thankful for.