Thanksgiving, like most holidays, is celebrated differently across communities and families. Students and teachers at Lebanon Trail High School are no exception. 

One of the cornerstones of Thanksgiving celebrations is family traditions and activities, and the students at LTHS celebrate the event in various ways.

“This year, I spent Thanksgiving with my uncle, aunt and cousins, my parents, and my grandparents,” junior Brianna Willingham said. “We all brought a thanksgiving dish and ate our feast at 1:30 and spent the rest of the time talking and watching the Cowboys game.”

Furthermore, a large component of Thanksgiving celebrations is often food and drinks. 

“Some must-have foods for us are turkey, monkey bread (a type of roll), and stuffing. We also always have pumpkin and chocolate cream pies,” Willingham said.

However, there are deeper meanings to celebrating thanksgiving: the value of gratitude and connection with others. LTHS students also celebrate this aspect of the holiday in different ways.

“Personally, Thanksgiving is a time when I can reflect upon the things and people that I am fortunate to have around me and express gratitude for them. Oftentimes, I’m too stressed or pessimistic to really think about the positive parts of my life. However, during Thanksgiving, I can take a step back from all that stress, in order to be more appreciative, optimistic, and spend time with the people who I am grateful to have in my life,” junior Mansi Madhani said. 

LTHS teachers share these sentiments and value the importance of the holiday as well.

“Thanksgiving is a time for families to just come together and spend some quality time connecting and just take a short break with family traditions,” AP Biology teacher Susan Moran said. 

Additionally, Thanksgiving is about gratitude. At LTHS, students are grateful for their opportunities, resources, and teachers.

“Being shut at home and seeing the same faces over and over again for the most part of 2020 made me grateful for a lot of things, the most basic just being social interaction, the outdoors, and fresh air. I didn’t really get to experience my freshman year at LT since I was a virtual student on my bed the whole time, but this year, I’ve got to say I’m grateful for the specific teachers that take their time to answer questions and reach out to the students for feedback. I’m also really thankful for mega lunch because it’s a great opportunity for us all to take a breath and just relax for once,” sophomore Shreya Venkatachalam said. 

Teachers and staff at LTHS also share these sentiments towards the school as well as the students.

“At LT, I’m grateful for the amazing staff and teachers that we have here. I think everybody works really hard and wants what’s best for students even though it’s hard sometimes. I am also super appreciative of the students that we have here,”  Moran said.

Ultimately, students and staff alike are grateful for the community formed at LTHS.

“One of the reasons I came to Lebanon Trail was this amazing student population and I am so excited to be a part of our community that we have here,” Moran said.