Thanksgiving is one of those under-appreciated holidays that no one really pays much attention to. It sits between Halloween, a holiday where stores can make cash off of decorations and costumes, and Christmas, the consumerist juggernaut of all holidays. It’s like the middle child that gets ignored because it’s in that awkward stage of being too old to be cute, yet too young to provide any talent or conversation of value to the adults.

In fact, I still don’t really know why we celebrate the holiday. In grade school it had something to do with pilgrims and Native Americans eating together, but considering the Europeans gave them the polio virus and fought with various tribes over land I have to wonder if that’s worth celebrating. I imagine Wikipedia has the answers, as usual.

While this space is typically reserved for me to complain about video games, or on rare occasion other forms of media, I have decided to use it today to get a bit personal. It’s easier for humans to dwell on what they do not have as opposed to what they do. Otherwise “the grass is always greener” would not be such a long lasting phrase. So today I wanted to speak of things that I am grateful for in my life.

To all of my friends from College, and I do mean all of you, I thank you. Even if our friendship became relatively volatile at some point, knowing you has helped me grow as a person. Every person I’ve ever spoken to at the Rochester Institute of Technology has helped me develop into a stronger, more wise individual than when I had entered. Each of you has been important to me in life, and I hope to keep in touch as years pass by.

Since graduating I’ve been searching for a job, but have been unable to find suitable employment. It’s been very trying and puts a lot of pressure as College loans are coming up and must be deferred. I’ve been uncertain as to what I ought to do with my future and the more I see companies laying people off the more I realize I’m an inexperienced individual up against more qualified adults. My chances are not good.

Yet I am grateful for two things from this. One is my family, who allow me to live back home until I can get on my feet. While it is humiliating in many ways, and extremely frustrating, it is a much better alternative than living on the street. This long time of unemployment has also allowed me to learn many other things, about myself and my ideal professions. I’m slowly becoming a better writer, learning what it takes to be a true professional in the games journalism field and have been given opportunities that would not have existed had I jumped right into a job after graduation. To actually get a job writing about games is close to impossible, but my chances are much better now than they had been six or seven months ago.

On that note, I would love to thank Gamers Daily News and Games Abyss for providing me the opportunity to expand my abilities and get my name out there. To have such sites accept me to write for them proves to me that I have something, that I’m not merely chasing a pipe dream. Instead, I’m facing a long term project that I long to better myself at. By taking on their projects and under-going their scrutiny, my abilities as a writer are put to the test. I only hope that my abilities serve them as well as they serve me.

I am grateful to Gamers Daily News as I have been given the opportunity to play and review games I normally wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to. From an environmentalist combination of Sim City and Tetris to my first physical review copy of a retail game, this site and my obligation to it has helped me explore genres and game types I would have otherwise passed by.

I am grateful to Games Abyss because their editor, Neilie Johnson, is strict and forces me to scrutinize my writing in ways no other has. It forces me to take a second look at my arguments, the point I’m trying to drive home to make sure they are clear. Plus, while their paycheck may seem meager to some, it allowed me to purchase an awesome Christmas gift for my mom.

Of course I am thankful to every one of you reading this. Sure I may wish my site had a larger following, or had more people commenting on the forums or whatnot, but I’ve still got a larger readership than I had ever expected. I can get anywhere from 100-300 unique visitors in a day, and have even managed as many as 1000 on a random Saturday or so. I don’t know how many actual readers I have, but there are enough of you that I have to be doing something right. As such I’ve only taken my writing more seriously. I try and make sure what I have to say is worth reading, I double check before posting to make sure it all makes sense, and while I may often argue (such is my nature) I am always listening to what people have to say.

So thank you very much for keeping with me. I hope it all becomes worth it to you one day.

Finally, though I try to avoid mentioning such things, today I will speak it proudly. I am thankful to God that all these opportunities have been granted to me, be it by my hand, the hand of another or his. I’ve been baptized for four years now, marking my fourth year as a true Christian, and there has been a difference in my life. I owe my greatest amount of gratitude to God, and one day I’m sure I’ll figure out how to pay him back. Until then, this is all that I can do.

I hope this long list wasn’t too boring of a read for you. In fact, I would hope it has inspired you instead to look back on the past few years of your life and consider what you have. Even the smallest things are better than nothing and thus worth being grateful for.

Enjoy your Turkey everyone.*

If you eat Tofurkey then may you enjoy your disgusting insult to a gloriously delicious animal. If you eat Turducken, then by God you glorious bastard feast on and keep being awesome.

Share what you’re thankful for on the forums.