Thanksgiving break was great. It was long, I ate a lot of pie, and I spent time with my family. As the break concluded I began to wonder what would be my topic of this month’s edition of My Monthly Issue. What else would be more fitting than what I am thankful for?

First of all, I am thankful for these girls. Each time I come to class, I get to forget about my busy schedule, and have the ability to joke around with anyone in the room. My fellow SPUDsters help pick me up when I’m down. They are great friends and they actually get my sense of humor: intense sarcasm. Each of these young women are great in their own ways, and I am just going to mention why I am thankful for each one.

Magi, I chose you to go first because you were the first name in our snapchat group chat to pop up. Not only do you have a great sense of humor, but you make me laugh all the time. We have become such good friends over these past two years and I am thankful to have the opportunity to get to know you so well. My favorite memory of you in class is when you called me out all those times for playing games on my computer only for you to go play your own games after I got yelled at… You never got in trouble… Just me.

Crystal, where do I begin? I would say that we are pretty close and are comfortable enough to joke about basically anything. You have, however, gotten pretty quiet this year and it sometimes seems like you go unnoticed in class. I am grateful for all of the memories we have shared throughout high school and the great amount of laughs that have come with them. My favorite memory of you in class was all the times we had to go get Digmann lunch and barely made it back in time before the bell rang.

Brielle, I have not really known you until this year, but have just known of you. Sometimes I think that you silently judge us from the back of the room like some girls did last year, but at least you talk to us. I think that you would agree with me that we are kind of friends? Acquaintances? No clue, it’s up to you pal. My favorite memory of you so far was when we did the Christmas boxes for National Honor Society and we decided to race. You creamed me every time, but then I threw all of your stuff out of your box and beat you once.

Maycee, out of anyone in class, there is no doubt that I have known you the longest. From walking around town in the pouring rain and playing Cards Against Humanity, to going to the lake last summer, we have had a lot of crazy laughs. The ones that give you abs. I am so thankful for the friendship that we have and us being able to talk to each other about our problems, it’s really great. My favorite memories of you in class is all of your reactions to some of the stories we talk about. Sometimes they get a little crazy and I look over, and your facial expressions always make me laugh even harder.

Aubrie, what can I say? I’m your right hand man… Get it? I am so thankful for all the times you have helped me around photoshop and getting pictures posted on the website. I am glad that we both love Harry Potter. Also, I know my jokes are bad, let’s be real here, but no matter how bad they are, in the end, you are always laughing. My favorite memories of you include state when you put the chinese cat arm up to your nub and said, “Digmann look!” And also when I finally saw how you drive, it was incredible. You are such an amazing friend and I just wanted to remind you that you aren’t taken for granted.

Thalia, I think we became friends because you had no choice. Even though it seems like I annoy you a lot, and you give me sarcastic comebacks to my jokes, deep down, I know you love them. You definitely liven up the class each day you get rowdy, but you are also a hard worker and are dedicated to each of your stories. I am thankful for all of the times we joked around in class and made Digmann yell, “GUYS” about five times before we settled down. My favorite memory of you in class is when we went to conference and you said “Road work ahead, uh, yeah, I sure hope it does,” every time we passed one of those signs.

Da’Nautica, we just met this year, and I am really glad of that, because you are a hoot. You’re one of those students that is kind of quiet sometimes and always adds a really good punchline to a joke, while other times you’re as talkative as I am. I am thankful for all the story ideas that you come up with. Every one of your stories is something that I would never think of, but they are always pertinent to the school, which is pretty cool if you ask me. My favorite memory of you is when we went to Subway to sell an add and you sat in the back seat in awe as you watched Aubrie drive. It’s pretty cool how she does it, but your face the entire time was priceless.

Nikki, I have known you for a while, but I think we have only hung out one time like two years ago. I am glad that you come to me with story ideas and to make sure what you are doing is okay. It’s great that you think I know what’s going on half the time… I am thankful for your work ethic in class and all of your good sports stories. I am also thankful for your willingness to take pictures with me at pep rallies. My favorite memory of you is when we ran around the whole school in confusion while trying to get pictures of the drumline and students for the Mini Olympics.

Kenzie, you are probably the quietest person in class this year. It’s not bad, it just makes me nervous. Half the time you don’t seem to laugh at my jokes, so either you don’t know comedy or you hate me! You probably are just suppressing your urge to laugh, I get it. I am thankful for you because you are serious during class, which is a great thing for me to see considering I am serious 13% of the time.

Mrs. Digmann, I am so thankful for you in my life, and I don’t think I say “thank you” enough. I get to see you three times every day, so I have been able to bless you with my presence a lot this semester. I just want to say thank you for all the things that you have helped me with this year. Between editing my essays and writing a lot of letters of recommendation, there is no way that I could do all of the things I am doing without your help. I am so glad that I can call you a friend. Even though I get off task a lot and am the reason you yell, “GUYS” all the time, I think that our relationship is very special and unique. My favorite memories of you are all the times we have had deep conversations. Whether we are in class, or driving across the state, those talks are filled with a lot of good memories. Once again, thank you.

If there is one thing that you got from reading this edition of My Monthly Issue, I hope it is that you should never forget to say thank you, even to the people that some of the smallest things to impact your day. Slowly those small things add up, and the least you can do is thank them for making your day better and easier.