Of all the things I can thank God for, this Thanksgiving is special to me as this may be the last one I spend as a student hopefully. However, I am eternally grateful that I live in a nation and in a situation to where I can go to college and get so much further ahead in my education than I would have ever thought possible back in 1996 when I graduated high school.
I am thankful for the changes and advances in technology which have allowed me to go to school and get so far so quickly. Never forget, education is an opportunity rarely afforded to people in other parts of the world.
I am thankful for financial aid, until I have to pay it back that is. I'm not wealthy and I do not come from a family that was ever in a position to pay for school. Without financial aid it would still be possible for me to make it, just not as far and certainly not as fast.
I am thankful for the support of my family and employer. Without the support of my wife it would be impossible. Without the support of the rest of my family it would be very difficult and exceedingly lonely.
I am thankful for all of the wonderful advice I have received from people online who care enough to spend hours of their time researching and answering questions about learning online for no compensation whatsoever. I have received better advice from websites like eLearners than I ever did from tax paid professional counselors at public colleges and high school. Specifically I am thankful to people like Helen, Victoria and of course Michelle, guys like Terry Cord and Steve.
I am thankful to those administrators and instructors out there who care enough to give 100% effort to students they have never even met like you will find at Southwestern College (Go Builders) and Ashford University (Go Saints).
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!