Do you think your mother or father would sacrifice their life if it meant you got to keep yours? Most parents would do absolutely anything to keep their children out of harms way. Many men and women have been brave enough to put their life on the line so their close family and friends could live a free life. Those men and women did not only die for their family—they gave their life for you and me, strangers, individuals they do not even know. Imagine how much those men and women cared and loved this country to give their life for the freedom of strangers. They are men and women who deserved to be honored and remembered even long after they are gone.

That is exactly what the last Monday of May is devoted to: the ones who paid the price so you and I could live a free life. Yes, for all of you in school the three-day weekend is nice, but it is not what this day is about. Somewhere boys and girls, men and women wake up every day never getting the chance to spend time with their mother or father again. Somewhere a man or woman is without their significant other, without a son or daughter, and/or without a brother or sister. A man or a woman of the most courageous, brave type bled for you. They died for you.

As you enjoy your long weekend, BBQ with families and the nearing of summer, I encourage you to reflect on all you have to be grateful for. You have the privilege of living a free life every day, opportunities and choices individuals half way across the world dream of having. There is no dictator controlling every aspect of your life, and for the most part, you do not fear for your life on a daily basis. So I challenge you to extend a thank you to the soldiers you know or the families of those soldiers, because without them your life would be drastically different.

This week I am devoting my article to honor all those who have served. I am extending my most sincere thank you to them, as well as the many families who have lost a loved one in the United States military. You are also brave. I can not even begin to imagine what it feels like to lose a loved one in battle, but I can offer my thanks and gratitude for what your loved one did.

I am sincerely sorry that you have to live without them, but thank you for supporting them in their choice to serve. Because of you and him/her, I get to live a free life. I get to pursue an education. I get to voice my opinion. I am grateful for all I have because I know none of it is free. It was not by accident that I got to have the life I do, but I get to live freely because such a brave and honorable man/woman walked on this earth and gave their life me and every individual on the planet. Every opportunity that exists for me exists because of them. Without them, I recognize that my world and life would be much different than it is today. So thank you. Thank you to all those who have given everything and to those who still continue to serve.

As for the rest of us, let's ensure they did not die in vain. Let's be the type of Americans worth dying for, and let's be grateful.

I hope this article will be shared as a way for others to thank all of our soldiers and for us all to reflect on everything we have to be thankful for.