By: Kathryn Vance

After I mazed my way through the countless security lines, I walked outside and a bitterly cold gust of New York City air struck me in the face. But as I walked around the memorial site where the World Trade Centers once stood, I realized that my complaints were actually quite trivial. It didn’t really matter that my nose was runny or that my hands were ice cold. What I quickly realized I should be focusing on was that I should not take for granted one single moment that I am on this Earth and each day that I get to spend with those that I love and care about is a privilege.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011 have always held extra weight for me than for most others from Southern Indiana. While my aunt lived in the Garden State, she worked in downtown NYC and actually interviewed for a job in the World Trade Centers soon before the attacks. Although she ended up not taking the job and was fine, she was barely a mile away from the towers when they collapsed, leaving debris from the buildings on her office. While this is sentimental to me, I know that to you, the reader, she is merely an unknown face. So I’ll get on with my true point.

What really hit me as I was going around the memorial tonight was this: the time that we have here is extremely valuable and most of us (myself included) take it for granted. Time is precious; once a moment passes, it’s gone forever. There are no time machines, no do-overs.

So this Thanksgiving, and heck, every day from now on after this weekend, spend some extra time with your family, even if you think it’s kind of “uncool” at the time. Tell your friends how much they mean to you (guys, this is okay for you to do too, no one will make fun). This time of year, the smallest gestures can mean the world to someone.

Take the time. Spread the love. Eat some turkey. Happy Thanksgiving.