Before I proceed to write about how many issues I have with Black Friday, let me clearly explain that I'm not completely against it. Actually, when it comes down to it, I have more good things to say about it than bad. But the timing...

I've never understood, and probably never will understand why out of all days between Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, Black Friday has to happen THE DAY after Thanksgiving. That alone is bad enough, but now it starts around 5 p.m. ON Thanksgiving.

Prior to this year, I had had these feelings for as long as I can remember but refrained from writing about it because I had never experienced Black Friday for myself. So this past weekend, after Thanksgiving dinner with my family, my boyfriend and I both decided to adventure out into the city to see what it was like.

Normally, I would refuse to support any business that required their employees to work on Thanksgiving Day. But this year, the reporter in me was desperate to see it and live it in order to recognize the reality of it for myself.

When my boyfriend and I walked into Walmart around 5:45 that evening, I didn't think much of it. It wasn't packed full, loud or chaotic, and it didn't seem any different from any other regular shopping day. We stalled for a few minutes walking up and down the perimeter of the aisles. Three minutes to 6, as we slowly made our way through crowds of people, I felt shopping cart wheels hit my ankles and people looking at me in disgust if I stood in front of them for more than a couple seconds. It wasn't until then that I realized I was about to be caught up in the worst of it, as employees cut ropes and suddenly a Walmart became a war zone.

People ran wild. There was pushing, shoving, arguing, yelling, ramming of carts and destruction of entire aisles at a time. I watched as a young couple left their baby in a stroller on the outside of an aisle as the father pushed another few men out of the way just so he could get his hands on a video game.

I later found out these types of behaviors have been known to earn the store the nickname, "Brawlmart," during Black Friday hours. If that doesn't depress you, the idea that you have a heart and/or any empathy is questionable.

I looked at my phone to check the time. 6:02 p.m. It had only been two minutes. But in the same moment that I was able to check the time, I had also received a text from my best friend, which consisted of crying and broken heart emoticons along with one of the worst things I've ever heard her say.

"My whole family is at home eating together and talking for the first time in forever and I can't be with them because they need people to work. I don't even need the money, I shouldn't have to work when it takes me away from them."

And for her, my heart broke, like it did for every employee that had to work that night.

Many of them went above and beyond by making friendly conversation in check-out lines, holding doors open for customers, guiding customers through stores and wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. But I could see how much it hurt them. I saw a lot of very sad fake smiles.

So I didn't buy anything.

I guess when you really break it down, it just upsets me that Black Friday has become so big that it takes away from Thanksgiving. The one day out of the whole year that is dedicated to recognizing how thankful we are for the people and the things we've been blessed with, gets cut short so we can rush out to buy more tangible things that aren't worth anywhere near as much as time with loved ones.

And yes, I know for a lot of families it's a fun thing to do together that has just become a part of their Thanksgiving traditions. Some make matching T-shirts and get major game plans made. I'm not against that, I think it's wonderful and I love it. But I wish people would wait until Friday actually starts, so they could use Thanksgiving Day to just simply be grateful for each other and for the lives they lead.

It also hurts me to know that some employees and customers went home with bruises and scrapes just from fighting through crowds of material-crazed, competitive people who couldn't let anyone else get in their way or in between them and the things they wanted.

It isn't just Black Friday. It's black, and blue, and an awfully ugly scar in the back of my mind now, but sometimes I suppose people have to experience pain to know how important it is to heal.