LANDIS — Stacey Carver, who teaches at Corriher-Lipe Middle School, asked her AIG students to write essays on thankfulness. Here are excerpts:

… for my mom

I am thankful for many things. However, I am especially thankful for my mom and all that she has done for me. My mom helps me on many different things, such as helping me with homework or other school tasks. …

One particular time when my mom has helped me that I would like to talk about is when my mom helped me on my ELA novel project. In English-Language Arts class, we has to do a project on a novel. … This project had many different and complex steps. I had a plan. In my plan, I would get one step done each day over a length of eight days. We started the first step on a Saturday. I felt that I would get them done easily, but I soon felt that It was quite the opposite. I struggled at first. I felt like it was impossible and could not be done. However, around at that time, my mom came and helped me. I kept saying that it was not possible, but my mom showed that it was. For the next hour or so, we sat down and worked on it. She helped me some and helped me see the assignment through. …

My mom has always helped me from the start, and for that, I am thankful.

— Tyler Williams

… for music

Something that I am grateful for is music. While this isn’t the thing I am most grateful for, it is something special to me. There are many types of music that I listen to, like old country, classic rock, rock, and parodies. Nothing past 2010 though, that’s when music kinda got weird. Some pieces of music can make you feel a specific way and other music can just be something catchy and nice to hear. A lot of music I have used to get through tough parts of my life.

Music isn’t just entertainment for some people, it can be used as a sentimental relic as well. My sister has a bunch of old country CD’s from my Papa. There’s around three or four of them and they mean a lot to my family. Music can help pass time and music can become a career for some people. Music is an amazingly fantastic way of coping with a traumatic event. …

Music can take stress off of the brain as well, making sure to relax it and give it something soothing. …

Music is something in my life that am extremely grateful for, and I hope it’s important in you life too.

(Autocorrect is pretty great too.)

— Jackson Walter

 

… for my brother

A couple of years ago, my brother Cooper had to go to the hospital over Christmas … because his neck had fluid stuck in it and that made him not be able to move his neck at all. I am super thankful that it didn’t injure his neck permanently because I love my brother so much. I love him because he is such a loving brother to me and a great son to my mom and dad (most of the time). …

I was sad because the day he had surgery was Christmas Eve and he would be at the hospital for Christmas. …

After I finished opening my gifts we went to the hospital to give Cooper his gifts. I had to carry his giant bear into the building and up the stairs. I was really tired after all those stairs while carrying that 15 pound bear. When we got to his room he was awake but not as happy as he usually is.When he saw us come in the door with his presents his face just lit up with joy.

— Avery Welch

 

… for thankfuIness

I have many things to be thankful for, but the biggest thing I am thankful for was when I almost drowned. I was about 6 years old. It was summer and my family had a camping trip with my cousins. We went down to the lake somewhere in North Carolina. Me and my two older cousins, one 7 and one 12 at the time. It rained the night before, and my 8-year-old cousin slipped and almost fell in the lake. Me being my stupid self laughed at him. Then I slipped and I fell in the lake! My 12-year-old cousins jumped in and pulled me out (I couldn’t swim as a 6-year-old…). If it wasn’t for my 12-year-old cousin, I wouldn’t be here to tell you this story, I’d most likely be decaying at the bottom of the lake.

That was one of the last time I saw either of them. My uncle and aunt got divorced a year or two later. Yet I still am thankful that my cousin was there. To this day I look around everywhere, thinking maybe I could find him and say thanks. …

Seriously, whether it’s a war veteran, or your parents, make sure they know that you appreciate them, because you never know when it’s to late. I wish I got to thank my cousin for saving my life, but I couldn’t.

— Logan Vega

 

… for Carrigan Jo

I am thankful for Carrigan Jo, my 3-year-old sister.She has impacted my life in so many ways. She is an amazing little burst of joy. It all started when I found out my Mom was pregnant; I was the happiest third-grader. Days, weeks and months passed and it was getting close to her due date. Our whole family was so excited for the arrival of our new baby sister.

We all watched a movie together that night and as we were about to go to bed my brother told my sister goodnight through my mom’s stomach and said “I can’t wait to meet you!” She had been at the hospital that day because she had been having contractions,which they said was normal. So she had come home still worried but was willing to trust them. Then she talked to my grandmother on the phone till late that night or even early that morning and then got up to go to the bathroom and her water broke.

Her water broke and she yelled for my dad and since this was two months early their thought was call an ambulance and so they did. They took about half an hour to get to the house… She was born in less than five minutes. …

So eventually we went the next day into a weird room with babies in incubators called the NICU. If you have ever been in the NICU it’s very tiny. So are all the babies there. After two very long weeks of grandparents and our parents switching back and forth, we took her home the last day of school. It was the best and I was so happy. So I am thankful for everything and that she’s here and thriving today.

— Carolyn Stamey

 

… for food and drink

Three billion people, nearly half of the world population, live on less than two dollars a day. Poverty is causing a lot of problems. This includes lack of education, unemployment, and a lot of other problems. I am very thankful to be here today, eating whatever food I want, and drinking as much water as I need. …

When I was young, I didn’t care if people in the world did not have enough food or drinks. I thought I am here having as much food and drinks I want, so there is nothing wrong for me to live. I don’t care about other people. Also, I thought there were plenty of clean water for everyone on this earth …

When I saw those commercials that said to donate money to the poor countries, I just thought the companies said that to make money. However, now, I started to think that a lot of people are suffering from poverty and I should be thankful for food that I eat, drinks that I drink and money that I spend. I thought that food, water, and money that I wasted could have been donated to people who needed them. …

I am thankful to live in this world without any poverty problems … I will live thankfully and never forget to donate and volunteer to help people in this world.

— Ansley Seo

 

… for my best friend, Kadance Bebber

To be thankful for someone/something, means you love them no matter what. You are grateful, appreciative, that they are in your .life. You aren’t sure how what your life would be like without that person or possession. I have that person, she makes me laugh when I think I can’t laugh anymore.

I know in kindergarten everyone meets someone new and suddenly they are best friends forever. … I also have that person in my life, and I don’t know what I would do without her.Her name is Kadance. l am so thankful to have this girl in my life, she has made me a different person in so many ways. Without her probably would have grown up to be very shy, insecure, and nervous, but nowI am the complete opposite of all those words. I could tell she was looking for someone to keep her on the right track and make sure she didn’t lose herself. I keep her safe and she keeps me wild. ..

We are honestly opposites. She has an amazing singing voice, l really, really don’t. She is really into beauty, fashion, and makeup, and well … I’m not. I am more of an athletic person and into sports … she’s not. We may be different but that doesn’t stop us from being friends. After all, we can’t both be the same exact person, what’s the fun in that?

— Ava Schleyer

 

 

… for a thankful Sunday

It was a Sunday and I was with one of my best friends, Payton, and her mom and younger siblings. … We got all the kids In the car, and Payton and I were in the third row behind her sister and brother.We were just driving like normal, laughing at her brother and sister that could barely talk, singing to Adele, when a car T-boned us in our SUV and we started rolling.

I instantly remember hitting my head so hard against the window, then feeling sharp pains In my side. I hit my head and fell into Payton’s lap, I remember her telling me that it was okay and I was going to be all right but all I heard was screaming . About four men saw what happened and tried to push the car over, but it was too heavy. It was like my guardian angel helped them to push the car right over. The police,fire department and ambulance were all Immediately there, helping us to get out, but I couldn’t climb over the set because my side felt like a knife stabbing me. …

We rushed to the hospital and … they said that it looked like something was bleeding around my intestines. So they made me take a CT scan and looks of tests, tater they found a bubble in my intestines .I stayed for a while and missed a few days of school. … It was by the grace of God that none of us had any fatalities. … I am so thankful that was okay and that God was watching over us through It all.

—Sara Pierce

.. for moving

I am thankful because I got a chance to meet some new friends, and leave the friends that weren’t true friends. … I also got to meet great teachers in my time over in my new school that I wouldn’t have otherwise had had I stayed in the old school. These teachers were nice people who taught me more than just about the regular old school things; they taught me about my character and my personality, to work the very hardest I could no matter what the assignment was.

I was happy that when I moved houses, I still got to re-meet my old friends, and maybe the time apart did me some good. Good in the sense that I now had to go out and try to make new friends and good ones at that. … Being completely and totally honest, I wasn’t too good of a person in my old school. As for now, I’ll let others be the judge of that, although I personally feel that I’ve gotten slightly better than the person I used to be.

Another thing that I benefited from with this new house was my new neighbors, which helped teach me some more patience with the people around me.

— Alex Ochoa

 

… for my Pennsylvania home

Every summer, winter, and sometimes Easter break, I go up to Pennsylvania to visit my grandma and stay at her house. Every time I go there I know that fun, adventure, and new things will be discovered when I visit. When I go to my grandma’s house, I do all kinds of nifty things there, and I am truly grateful for her.

… All the fun comes from the time we spend with each other and enjoying the outdoors or going places. Almost every day, I learn some new things from experience from all of the different things there. …

 

One of my favorite parts of the visit, Is when we make dinner and deserts together! My grandma is an excellent cook and I love making recipes with her. One of my favorite recipes to make is homemade pumpkin pie and homemade chicken pot pie. Everytime we make a pie, we always have leftover dough, so we make cinnamon butter rolls (butter, cinnamon, and the dough rolled up and cooked in the oven). ..

Without my grandma, I would never learn things like baking from scratch, amazing songs, unthinkable crafts, and all these interesting things about wildlife and history. She is a complete joy to be around, and I am so happy when I go to PA to visit. My grandma also introduced my love for horses which lam undeniably thankful for.She has taught me about horses,and we both love horses, so a lot of our crafts revolve around horses. For all these reasons,I am truly and undeniably thankful for my grandma.

— Grace Meckley

… for not getting hurt

A major event that I am thankful for is when I was 11 and wasn’t almost crushed by a four-wheeler. This event happened on a Sunday after church. I went to go check in the pasture to see if there was a baby calf. I went up a hill … and I hit a big tree root. I have drove there lots of times but this time it was wet and I was going very fast. Then I drove up the tree and the four-wheeler flipped backwards. I was able to jump off in time and go to the side. The seat was small so the four wheeler just missed my foot. Then it rolled some more and hit a tree. …

I am thankful that I saw It coming and was able to jump off in time. It was very scary and I am thankful that I did not get serious injured. The reason I am thankful is because I was not hurt. I am also thankful because the four wheeler was not damaged other than some dirt in the handle bars. I was able to drive away and look for the calf. The rest of that day I was afraid to get on the four wheeler. This event has changed my life because I will never go back up that hill that way again. I also am more careful when I ride up hills and down them so that I do not flip or tumble down. …

The thankfulness I experienced is overwhelming. It rushed over my body like a wave. It was a good feeling It doesn’t make you feel sad.It can be a rush or just an experience. This experience was amazing because I did not break anything. The four wheeler was also not broken or damaged seriously. This was a amazin experience that I will never forget and always remember.

— Seth Karriker

 

... for my amazing family of Wisconsinites

My mother’s side of my family is from Wisconsin, which is the place that most of them still live and where I was born. … I have a huge family of wonderful people and I am extremely thankful for each and every one of them. Everybody is very close in my family, my grandma says that it’s because in the winter you’re snowed in so all you can do is talk to people around you, but I think it’s because almost all of us are so similar in personality that we enjoy being around each other.

We have all sorts of family traditions like watching football together on Sunday or eating delicious homemade pistachio pudding on special occasions. For Thanksgiving the family decides on where they are going meet-up and everyone brings a side, and the hosts are obliged to make the ham and turkey. I think that traditions are very important when you want to stay close to family members. I am very thankful for all of these great traditions that help keep us as tightly knit as we are.

It always amazes me how well everyone gets along considering all of the funny quirks other people might find weird. I am very glad that my family has a good sense of humor, and can lighten up even the dullest of situations. … We all think that if everybody was the same, the world would be incredibly mundane and uneventful. I am so very thankful for the spectacular personalities that my family has and will hopefully have forever.

If there is one thing that I am most thankful for in regards to my family it is that we will always be there for each other. If one of us is in a time of need or just has an awards ceremony, you can bet they will show up to help or support you. …

I am so thankful for them and all that they do. If I didn’t have my family I don’t  think I would be the same person Iam today. I really can’t thank them enough for being such an amazing family who have so much love and care in their hearts. This Thanksgiving I will be thinking about how lucky and thankful I am to have the best family in the world.

— Alexia Haight

… for a healed fractured wrist

One time in 4th grade … I was playing a game at after-school care, and, well, one kid “accidentally” pushed me off the playground and I landed on my right wrist, which I should note is my dominant hand. It hurt extremely.  …

Lo and behold, I had a fractured wrist. … The doctor gave me a splint and said that I need to wear it everywhere except the shower for 6 weeks, so the 6 weeks came and went. They took x-rays, it had healed.

Then the doctor said that in the next 6 months I should not go on a trampoline or play any tackle sports until the 6 months were up, and if I did I would have to wear my splint. That summer early on we went to a trampoline park and the 6 months were not over yet because of course they weren’t. I brought my splint and put it on and had a good time. Also I would like to say that the splint was very sweaty and stunk a lot. …

What I’m thankful for is that I was able to enjoy things still (like the trampoline park), also that I haven’t had an injury like that since (this is still true as have writing this).

— Reagan Glover

 

… for not getting hurt

Something that I am thankful for is that I have not physically gotten badly hurt. I know many people who have either broken a bone, gotten into some kind of accident that could have ended their life, and some who have would have not been able to walk because of an accident they got in. I have not experienced something like that yet and hopefully never will have to. …

 

I feel like a lot of people yearly get physically hurt (broken bones,twisting an ankle or any body part, etc.) really bad, like have to go to the hospital bad. I am just glad I am not one of those people. I have experienced physical pain just not as bad as most people have. My family and Iare pretty luck that most of us have not had to be at the hospital for any reason like that. Now there have bean a couple people In my family who have broken a bone or two but they are good now and that is all that matters.

I even have some long time friends who have broken/fractured/sprained something and from what they tell me it hurts more than I can imagine. Before when I was little I would cry about getting hit in the head or something and think that it hurt a lot and think that it was bad. Sure it hurt a lot for a 3-8 year-old but now thinking back I now realize that wasn’t the worst I could have experienced.I actually never thought about how badly I could have been hurt. I was just like almost every normal child innocent as can be just being a kid thinking that life was all sunshine and rainbows. When now I realize life can get pretty hard and everyone can get extremely hurt if they’re not careful.

— Karina Galarza Spinoza

… for my personal superhero

I by far am the most thankful for my dad. I love all of my family very much but my father has really made an impact on my life in ways that no one else can. My father is a very great man and loves his children more than anything else in the world. He will and has worked himself to the bone just to make sure everyone he cares about is secure, happy and safe. Even if he barely sleeps to take care of his two grandchildren he doesn’t mind.

My father is a very good mechanic and has even been second best in the whole state. However not only does he work that long and dangerous job but he comes home and will still babysit and pick up the house, he’s such an overachiever. He always has cuts, calluses and bruises on his hands just so he can get the paycheck that pays the bills. … He has taught me many things and he is very intelligent. While he also makes sure I keep my grades up and turn my work in.

He is a very great husband as well, he always spends money and cares for my mother.

Also he’s a great grandfather because he will always watch and care for all of his grandkids while their moms work. He’s just an amazing man all around. Always trying his best at everything he does and is successful at that. All his life he told me he has been a family man and family is above everything and everyone else. No doubt in my mind that my father would sacrifice everything else just for our happiness.

 

— Cynthia Davis

… for my best friend

My best friend is one of the most important people in my life her name is Meredith Eudy. She is hilarious. Her jokes are amazing. If something comes to her head she just says it which makes me laugh so hard. We can never be serious around each other we’re always laughing about something, even when it’s not funny. Also she has confidence and a high self esteem because she doesn’t care what people think about her, and she’s not afraid to talk to someone new or talk in public. She is also very smart, she gets A’s in all of her classes and is never bad at anything she does.

One thing that I like about her is that she’ll tell you how it is and she’II tell you what she thinks about you or the situation without a doubt. Also she’ll tell you the truth on things and she doesn’t lie to you about things, and I like how she’s so loyal to people especially me. …

l love her family too there are really crazy and funny, her dad always has me laughing when no one laughs at his jokes. Her mom is funny but can be serious when she needs to. Her brother thinks he’s funny and cool but we all know the truth about that statement! Don’t even get me started on her dogs and cat. …

She is just all around an amazing friend and person and I love her so much, and I am so thankful for her because without her I don’t know what I would do with myself. …  She just has a different and great personality that makes everyone want to be friends and hang out with her. Which makes her the perfect friend for me and anybody else that’s her friend.

— Kayla Brown

… for sister avoiding even worse injury

Over the summer me, my sister Madison and friend Sara went to a beach called Ocean Lakes for summer break. … We grabbed electric scooters and rode to the ice cream place. On our way back Sara and Madison decided to take a different road than me and my dad took, to get back to the beach house that we were staying in. So we got back to the house and were waiting for them. After ten minutes they were still not there, so my dad went to see where they were on his bike. Five minutes later a guy on a golf cart brought Madison to the house and carried her up on the porch of the beach house and was covered in blood. Sara told me that the battery pack fell out and tripped the scooter causing it to flip and she fell. ..

So we looked up lots of places we could take her to a hospital and found a place that was about fifteen minutes away.

When … she came out she was on crutches and my parents told us that she had broken her leg in two places but it was a clean break so she would not have to have surgery. She was in a soft cast and would get a hard cast when we got back home. So we went back to the beach house and packed up. We had to leave so that she could see a doctor and get a hard cast. … I am very thankful that she did not hurt herself any worse than she did. Also that she did not hit her head when she fell. Also I am thankful that she did not have to have surgery.

— Lindsey Beaver

… for veterans 

I am so thankful for the veterans, who have fought for my freedom. They have made my life so much more special because I have freedom to live the way I want to live. Veterans have done so much for you and I. They have fought for the American flag, our freedom, our rights, and freedom of religion, our safety, and so much more.Veterans are the reason America is such a safe country. …

Tuesday, November 12 was Veterans Day. It wasn’t just a day off from school, it was a day to honor all those who have fought for me and the people in America. I am so lucky to live in a country where I can go to church, feel secure, have rights, go to school, and have my freedom. I love America …

I have three veterans in my family, my aunt who was in the Air Force and stationed In Pensacola, Florida, my uncle who was in the Marines and was stationed in Vietnam , and my grandfather who was in the Army. I wanted to thank all the veterans out there who didn’t back down and showed pride for our country. …

We thank all our veterans with pride who have served our great country. Thank you!

— Madison Beaver