By: Kimberly Martinez & Ayla Romero
Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s been around for generations. This holiday brings family and friends together and helps people realize the many blessings in their lives. Over the years Thanksgiving traditions have evolved depending on the family, but most traditions have stayed the same. And although Thanksgiving may have a bit of middle-child syndrome with it being stuck between Halloween and Christmas, there is no doubt that this holiday deserves its time in the spotlight. Here at El Diamante staff and students have begun to get into the Thanksgiving spirit and have shared with us their opinions about the great holiday that is Thanksgiving.
Credit: Ayla Romero
What is the point of Thanksgiving according to you?
- I think the point of Thanksgiving is to be with family and just be surrounded by love, and it’s just a time to be grateful for everything that you have.” – Jetsie Villegas, senior
- “The point of Thanksgiving is getting together with family and friends and just enjoying each other’s company and time.” – Mrs. Cervantes, Principal’s Office
- “Thanksgiving is important to me because it is a time where my family can come together especially because we don’t get together very often. This kind of makes us get together and see each other and laugh and it’s a great time. – Mrs. Olson, Biology
- “For me, it’s about family.” – Mrs. Perez, English
What are you most thankful for?
- “‘I’m most thankful for my parents because they’ve helped me through a lot and also my friends because they’ve supported me in ways that my parents couldn’t” – Vanessa Avila, senior
- “I am most thankful for my family, for my health, for my family’s health, and just being able to spend time with my family.” – Mrs. Cervantes, Principal’s Office
- “I’m Mexican, I came to the United States, I have my family, have my house, I made my career. I got a lot of opportunity in this country”– Mr. Rodriquez, Spanish teacher
Why is it important to be thankful?
- Because it gives a moment to stop and appreciate what we have and to see how far we’ve come.” – Mrs. Reynolds, Student Services
- “I think especially in the age of social media, we focus too much on all the bad in the world. It’s nice to stop and think about what you have.” – Mrs. Perez, English teacher
- “Being thankful to me is just appreciating and acknowledging that not everybody has these same opportunities or things in their life and so, just take a moment and realize, often times…the days go by and you don’t take that minute to think about it so Thanksgiving gives you really that whole day or whole week to really focus on being grateful and thankful for those things.” – Mr. Borquez, chemistry teacher
Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? If so, can you name one?
- “My grandma makes creamed corn and it’s so weird it looks gross, it sounds gross, but when you eat it, it’s, I don’t know, it just goes well. It’s this sweet creamy corn dish and I know Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without grandma’s creamed corn.” – Mr. Borquez, chemistry teacher
- “I was born in Mexico, so our tradition is not like it is here. We have more tamales, pozole. I’ve never remembered me eating turkey in Mexico unless it was with mole” – Auggie Gonzalez, campus security
- “My thanksgiving tradition..is it weird to say to wear my stretchy pants so I can eat a lot. I wear them every year.” – Mrs. Olson, biology teacher
What do you think is a common stereotype people have about Thanksgiving?
- “That the turkey’s good. It’s not good” – Isabella Martinez, senior
- “One that I don’t like is the association with Black Friday because people sometimes don’t even finish their food, they go to the stores to line up. That’s not the point of Thanksgiving” – Mr. Rodriguez, Spanish teacher
- “I would probably say the background of why it’s celebrated, like the pilgrims and indigenous people.” – Jetsie Villegas, senior
Through talking with students and staff on campus, it’s clear that Thanksgiving serves for us as time to be with the ones we love, while also remembering all the good things we have in our lives. So with that being said, us writers for The Dig would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.