Family, food and friends are always a good reason to give thanks.

I’ve already had some pre-Thanksgiving meals, and as the clichéd traditions go, we all took the time to share our thanks.

I was surprised at how many people felt almost embarrassed to share.

“You know, I’m thankful for my family, just like everyone else.”

“I’m thankful for this food; surprise, surprise.”

“I’m thankful for my friends, too.”

These might be common reasons to give thanks, but it doesn’t mean they are any less reason to be thankful.

I’m so thankful for my blended family. I have parents and step-parents that I love, that love me, that support me, and that encourage me to do anything I have the desire to do. I’m thankful that I am a part of a huge extended family: a whole village that helped raise me and that loves me as their own. I’m thankful for my brother as my best friend, my sister as the joy of my life, and my cousins that are close enough to be my siblings. I’m thankful for my church family that provides love and community for me.

I’m thankful because while being thankful for family is so cliché to some, there are those out there that aren’t thankful for their families simply because their families are not something positive to be thankful for.

I’m thankful for all of the crazy amounts of food I will eat over the holidays. I’m thankful for all the time my family put into preparing the food for me. I’m thankful that it’s plentiful, and I’m definitely thankful that it’s delicious. I’m thankful that my belly will not know hunger over these holidays, and I’m even thankful for the pounds I will inevitably gain.

I’m thankful for Thanksgiving food because even though it is plentiful for many families, there are many other families that will go hungry this week, and the weeks to come. While I will leave college and come home to more food than I can imagine, some children who don’t go to school during the break will miss out on the chance to get a meal.

I’m thankful for my friends: for the old ones that I will get to see when they make their way home from their respective colleges, to the new ones I’ve made during this semester. I’m thankful for my sorority, which has given me sisters that I know I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life. I’m thankful that my parents are some of my closest friends, and I’m thankful that I don’t have to feel so lonely with all of the blessings of friends in my life.

I’m thankful for my friends because although it seems everyone has at least one friend, there are those who will feel the weight of loneliness too often. There are people who feel isolated and alone who can’t find their home.

The holidays provide many people reasons to be thankful, but for many others, the holidays are so much harder. Squeeze your family a little tighter. Say grace for your food. Tell your friends you love them.

There will never be a reason too cliché to give thanks for family, food or friends.