As the first semester nears its end, students finally reached their first week-long break of the school year. Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to connect with each other. It has also helped many people consider or even reconsider what they’re grateful for.  For students at MHS, it was a way to relax and focus on making up for any late work. Students shared what they were grateful for and how the break helped them get prepared for the end of the first semester.

Family and friends are a constant part of our lives. They’re the people who we can always confide in. Students like Kitzia Viramontes mentioned that they were grateful for their families. “I’m grateful for my family, especially my cousins as they are the ones keeping me sane,” said Viramontes. “ I’m like an older sister to my cousins and I helped raise them with their mom”. Viramontes also mentioned that she is very happy to always see them as they remind her of her younger sister as she doesn’t get to see her very often. Family is one thing that many people are grateful for during the holiday. However, there are other things that people are grateful for.

Showing gratitude for something isn’t just limited to family and friends but can also be shown to things we can often take for granted. Other students also found gratitude in ways to express themselves. Melanie Villanueva stated how they were grateful for art as they used it as a way to express themselves through it. “In a way it grounds me,” said Villanueva “It’s sort of a coping mechanism as opposed to just being a hobby. Art can mean many things, it doesn’t necessarily mean scribbling on a piece of paper”. Villanueva also mentioned how they used Thanksgiving break as a way to wind down from school and spend time with their family. Villanueva was also kind enough to showcase an art piece they’ve made.

Students did a number of things to wind down from their classes over break. It ranged from spending time with family to expressing themselves through art. However, there is one stress-relieving activity that almost everyone has taken part in and that is listening to music. Adair Trinh mentioned that they were grateful for music as it is a big factor in her life. “ I don’t like sitting in silence so I would listen to music almost all the time to keep it from being silent” Trinh said. A favorite song that Trinh listens to is  “Beautiful Stranger” by Laufey. Just like visual art, music is a way to express yourself and ease your own tensions. It is definitely one of the things that many people may overlook as without music most days would be bland or dull.

Whether it be spending time with family or listening to music, Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us of the little things that make such an impact on our life. It should also be noted that we shouldn’t just be grateful for those things during this one holiday but throughout the entirety of the year. With finals just around the corner, many students can agree that this break was essential in order to relax and prepare themselves for the upcoming weeks of the semester.