The Thanksgiving and Christmas season is a special time of year. For some, it's the only chance one gets in which all of the family is together. For others, it's simply a time to eat a lot of food and relax. However, almost everyone spends this season, well, giving thanks.

However, not many people realize just how much they have to be thankful for.

Here's a little background on where I’m coming from. I have this app on my phone called "Sprinkle Of Jesus." A couple of times a day, I get notifications from this app that act as prayers. A lot of the time, these prayers help me get through the day and remind me to be humble and caring.

On Thanksgiving, I received the notification that said, “Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad it is, is someone else’s fairytale.” It is one of the most humbling things I have ever seen.

Now I admit, I am extremely privileged. I have a family that loves and supports me, a roof over my head, food on my table, clothes on my back, clean water to drink, and many other things that not many people have. That's not just it, though.

Let’s break it down one thing at a time.

My family is one of the most important things to me. I love my parents and my brother so much that sometimes it hurts. That's not to say that they don't make me angry sometimes. There are times when I want them to leave me alone, or times that I snap at them. However, there are so many people who would give everything they have to be able to have the family that I do. There are children in this world who are orphans, whose parents have died in wars or in accidents or by someone else’s will. There are children in this world who have been disowned by their parents simply because of something that they cannot control. There are children out there who fall asleep thinking they aren't loved because their family isn't there for them. No matter how angry my family makes me, there are children who would give absolutely anything to experience the love that I feel every day.

I’ve lived in the same house my entire life. I know this house like the back of my hand, and I could probably navigate it blindfolded. There are times I catch myself wanting to move, or times I think about the things that are wrong with it, and then I remember. I remember there are people who don't have homes out there. There are people who wander the streets wondering where they're going to have to sleep that night. There are people who don't have a warm bed, or don't have a working shower with hot water. My house has supported me for sixteen years, and some have gone that long on the streets.

I take for granted the amount of food that I have access to. I joke all the time that I can't fend for myself because I don't know how to cook, or that I’m letting myself go because all I eat is junk food. There are people who would kill to eat the pizza crusts that I throw away, or kill to lick my plate clean just to get every last crumb they could find. There are people who don't know when their next meal will be. There are kids who only get to eat at school, who dread going on breaks because it means they won't get food. There are people who will dig through the trash and gladly eat something rotten just for that bit of strength. I’m a picky eater and I have eyes bigger than my stomach, and I need to start remembering there are people who wouldn't look twice at something and would eat it even if they didn't like it.

My closet is bursting with clothes. Half of those are clothes I don't even wear but I just had to have. It sucks, because there are children who run around and play barefoot or in shoes so torn up they barely stay on. There are people sitting on the sidewalk in sweaters so cut up they don't keep in warmth. There are people surviving in only one outfit, and I forget about them when I let clothes sit in my closet for months before getting donated or thrown away.

Water is a giant epidemic in our society right now. So many countries and so many people don't have access to clean drinking water, something that humans desperately need to survive. They go every day dehydrated or drinking water that could poison them, and with the change in my pocket I could go to the store and buy a case of water that'll last me maybe two weeks. I can turn on the tap and drink water straight from there and I would be okay, and not many countries can do that.

Beyond all the necessities of life, I have so many things that are just icing on the cake. I have one of the newest phones on the market right now. I just redid my room and got an entirely new bed. I spend almost every day at school until the sun starts going down, working on my studies or rehearsing for the theater and band shows I am in. My family has the funds to be able to take a trip to another state specifically for me to see a musical I’ve been dying to see.

I’m so thankful for all the things in my life, but everything gets that much more bittersweet when I remember that there are people who would do anything and everything to live the life that I live, even with all the bad parts.

In this season of family and cheer and giving, don't just be thankful for the good things in your life. Be thankful for the bad things too, because someone out there is dreaming of the life you live.

Remember to be humble this season.