Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! For the non-Americans who might be reading this, Thanksgiving is a day when families gather together to enjoy a special dinner consisting of things like turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce (my favorite), pumpkin pie, and other delicious items. It is also a tradition to have three American football games on national TV, although this year, there will only be two (thanks, COVID). With the postponement of the Ravens-Steelers game, the NFL can now merely offer the extremely unappetizing slate of Texans vs. Lions and the Washington Football Team vs. Cowboys. (Side note: What do fans of Washington actually chant? Let’s go, Washington? Let’s go, Team? Let’s go, Football Team?)

Food and football aside, Thanksgiving is a time to think about what we are grateful for. Everyone has something that they are happy to have in their life. On my second Turkey Day in Prague, I thought I’d give a brief rundown of all the things I’m thankful for. I’m not going to list silly material things like tacos (even though I’m very thankful for them) or, as thankful as I am that Biden beat Trump, get into anything political. I want to keep it festive and positive.

Here we go…

1. My family–Even though they are 5,000 miles away, I would not be where I am today without my family. They have been tremendously supportive of my career and adventure in Prague. I know that they wish I could be there at the table (as long as I had Andrew Cuomo’s permission first), but I’m there in spirit. They are in my heart and I think about them every day.
2. My friends–One of my main reasons for moving to Prague was to meet new people. The Language House, the TEFL school I graduated from, has a very wide community of graduates and makes it easy to network. They really pride themselves on building a community here. But I’m happy to say that my group of friends goes beyond The Language House. In fact, many of the best friends I have here did not come through the The Language House. Last weekend, me and my closest friends had a very nice Friendsgiving celebration. We all had a great time and had a chance to bond even further.
3. My career and work–I’m so grateful that I turned this dream into reality. I’m thankful for the language schools who saw something in me and entrusted me with their clients. I’m thankful for my students. The experience I have gained has done far more than just pay the bills, it has given me invaluable experience that I will treasure forever. I feel like teaching is my niche and is something I will be doing for a very long time. I look forward to continuing my current work and possibly even pursuing some new opportunities down the road.
4. The basics–A roof over my head. Clothes on my back. Food on my table. These are things which we sometimes don’t think about. In this crazy world called life, we are so engrained in our daily responsibilities that we forget there are people out there who don’t have these things. Ponder that when you go to bed tonight.
5. My health–During this time of Coronavirus, I’ve managed to stay relatively healthy. God willing, it will continue that way, and I hope my family, friends, and roommates stay healthy as well. This has been the case despite the fact that the Czech Republic bungled its response. But we are the lucky ones. This Thanksgiving, there will be hundreds of thousands of Americans with an empty chair at the dinner table for the first time. Think about how they feel.
6. Doctors, nurses, first responders, and other health personnel–These people are the real heroes. They are putting themselves in danger and working excruciating 24-hour shifts. Imagine how worse this crisis would be without them. Thank you and God bless you all.
7. My setbacks–My life so far has been an interesting road. There have been a plethora of good things that have happened to me. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. I’ve had my bad days. I’ve gone through the roadblocks and endured the things that didn’t go according to plan. You know what? I’m still here and I’m a better man for it. As I learned from my sports psychology class in college, every day is a new opportunity for success, and my failures have motivated me to work even harder to achieve success.

Keep working hard. Keep fighting. Keep dreaming of the better times that are to come. As much as it might seem like it, the Coronavirus pandemic isn’t going to last forever, and hopefully, we will all be able to have normal family gatherings come Thanksgiving 2021. But for now, just enjoy the things you do have and make the most of this special holiday.