Today is thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for. A lot of  people don’t even have the basic necessities for survival like clean water, good health, and a proper home, and I have way more than that, so I am grateful.

Since today is thanksgiving I just want to share with you a few things that I am thankful for.

#1: My Family…I am so lucky to have an amazing family who will stand by me no matter what. My whole family is so loving, kind, and extremely helpful. I don’t know what I would do without them!

#2: Education…Unlike most children in the developing world, I am able to get a proper education. I completely adore learning new things so I am so thankful that I get to have the wonderful experience of going to school.

#3: Friendship…I have so many wonderful friends that are so nice, supportive, and friendly! Without my friends my life would not be as fun and exciting!

#4: Clean water…Many people don’t have access to clean water. Women have to walk hours to get to water, and more often than not, the water that they are walking for hours to find is not even clean! All I have to do to get clean water is to simply turn a tap and “abracadabra” out comes clean water.

#5: Good Health…I am in very good health so I am thankful for that.

#6: Food… I am so thankful that I never have to worry about not having enough food on the table like many other people in the world do.

#7: My home: I am so thankful that I have a nice place to go home to everyday.

#8: Books…I love reading so much and I don’t know what I would do without them.

#9: Being born in Canada…I am so thankful that I was born in Canada because I have all my rights and freedoms. In the developing world gender discrimination is a big problem, but luckily that is not as big of a problem here in Canada.

#10: Heroes…I am thankful for the heroes that have inspired me to take action like Terry Fox, Spencer West, Hannah Alper, Craig and Marc Kielburger, and Malala Yousafzai. They are all great role models and have inspired me to take action.

One of the reasons I think thanksgiving is an important holiday is because so many kids in the world are always thinking about what they don’t have instead of what they do. Children are glued to ipods, computers, or the TV instead of taking action to help their peers in the developing world. Kids need to understand that they already have so much, but they don’t even realize it. People that are even younger than them don’t even have the basic necessities for survival. Really, we have way more than they do. Thanksgiving is a time when the whole world needs to think about all that they have and to be grateful for it.

So tonight, when you sit down to your thanksgiving dinner, be grateful for all that you have.

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya