With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I know most of you are hungry for a little discussion about this traditional American holiday. Growing up, Thanksgiving was always an uncertain holiday in my household simply because I am a first generation citizen, meaning that my family is comprised of immigrants. So what does this mean for Thanksgiving in our house? Well let me give you a taste.

Thanksgiving doesn’t always happen. I know, shocking right? How could something as fun, exciting, and delicious be forgone? Well, sometimes family is too spread out to have a Thanksgiving. A lot of immigrant families left the rest of their family behind. This means all my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, and grandpas are in another country, leaving just my immediate family to celebrate the holiday.

If it does happen, it most likely isn’t the Thanksgiving that we’re conditioned to by the media. Yeah, that's right, there won’t be a cornucopia on the table nor will there be a big fancy bird to feed all the relatives, because there aren't any relatives to feed. Maybe sometimes my grownup siblings will come home for Thanksgiving, but more often than not, they have some other plans. Also, forget every traditional or passed down recipe because this Thanksgiving along with every other, will have cultural food. Turkey stuffing and homemade gravy is left to the movies.

It's not every year that I love Thanksgiving. Some years I feel sad as it goes by uncelebrated. Other years I set myself up for failure, hating the holiday and the disappointment I know it will bring me. But very seldomly, I’ll have a Thanksgiving to remember; sitting out on a porch that's being drizzled with fresh snow, sipping a hot cup of cocoa while looking through a window at my family, laughing while playing a game of Mafia. Its moments like those, when I know that not having a tradition can be just as good as having one, because I can make Thanksgiving anything I want.