Ah. The time of giving thanks.

The time of reminding all of your family members what your major is, what school you actually go to. The time of explaining to your family why you’re in a relationship, why you’re not in one or why you got a C in that class, what that class was even about. The time of telling them how old you are and them responding with, “Oh my gosh you’re so old, you grew up so fast!” At this point we’re all old here, so lets move on.

As much as we dread answering these questions year after year, repeating to our families what we’ve been doing the past semester, what we plan on doing the next semester or even after we’ve finished school, these are the moments that we should be thankful for. We should be thankful for being able to be with our families yet another meal, another holiday, another year.

Now don’t be misconstrued by the title of this article; I love me some Chandler Bing.

His witty sarcasm and his inability to give appropriate advice never fail to generate a laugh, but remember when he refused to celebrate Thanksgiving because it reminded him of his parents’ announcement of their divorce? And when he forever tied the holiday to that awful time of tension and regurgitating pumpkin pie? Yeah, please don’t be Chandler Bing this Thanksgiving.

Don’t be that person that dreads celebrating Thanksgiving or dreads thinking about and saying out loud to the room full of family members what you’re thankful for just because you may or may not be blind to what you actually should or can be thankful for.

Regardless of the lifestyle you grew up in, the childhood you had, the family that you were raised by, there is always someone or something out there that you are thankful for, whether you know it or not. You don’t need a complete family of a mother and a father and siblings to be thankful; you don’t need an extravagant house with a dining room table to be thankful; you don’t need a whole meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole to be thankful. Instead of dwelling on what you have or what has happened to you, or comparing yourself to others and weighing what you have against what they have, just stop and think.

Look around you. Look at what you have that others might not have. A university to attend for college; a library to study at; a cafeteria to eat at; a bed to sleep on; a job to earn money from; whatever device you’re reading this off of; a whole family; a broken family; friends; love.

We’ve all had our hardships. We’ve all suffered through our own endeavors, but recognize what you’ve been given and be thankful for that. Be thankful for being able to attend college and walk on campus to go to class (as much as we all hate those 8 AMs).

Be thankful for being able to grab that cup of coffee or that meal with your friends. Be thankful for being able to afford that apartment or dorm you live in, regardless of its size. Be thankful for that friend that you laugh with, fight with, cry with, or just plainly sit with. Be thankful for your parents, whether it’s just your mom, just your dad, or even just your role model. Be thankful for those moments filled with those questions that you get asked every year at Thanksgiving. Be thankful for just being.

If you want to be Chandler Bing this year for Thanksgiving then that’s okay. But be the Chandler Bing that is thankful for his grilled cheese and Funyun Rings for Thanksgiving dinner just because he simply gets to be.