I know, I know: You’re supposed to make a list of all the things you’re thankful for before Thanksgiving.

But I was too caught up in everything I was doing. I was too busy studying for quizzes and going to rehearsals and writing columns and reading plays and practicing monologues to take even five minutes to stop and think about how much love and how many blessings grace my life. It wasn’t until the night of Thanksgiving, when the turkey had all been eaten and the chick flicks had all been watched, that I realized why we have this national day of thanks. It’s not just about the food and the family, although both are a part of it. It’s about having an entire day to forget about all the things that seem so important in the daily grind and remember the ones that actually make life worth living.

With that in mind, I want to share with you all the blessings I remembered this past Thursday. Some are to be expected; others, I think, are a little unorthodox. I think you’ll agree they’re all things that make this world such a marvelous place.

I’m thankful for the Big Bang, or God flipping the switch to let there be light, or Eurynome getting freaky with Ophion, or whatever it was that created the universe we live in. I’m thankful that all the laws of that universe were just right to allow galaxies and stars and planets to form and stabilize. I’m thankful that the Earth’s atmosphere came to have just the right combination of gasses and minerals to allow humans to evolve.

I’m thankful for the development of civilization, so I don’t have to hunt for wooly mammoths with a rock. I’m thankful for whoever came up with written language and indoor plumbing, microwave pizzas and Diet Dr. Pepper (it really does taste just like the real thing). I’m thankful to Steve Jobs, without whom I couldn’t scroll through thousands of songs while running at the gym.

I’m thankful to SMU, the school that’s given me the best few years of my life. I’m thankful to the theater department, where I’ve learned everything I know about this art I love so much. I’m thankful for having so far evaded the sadistic clutch of Park ‘N Pony and for Peruna still being our mascot. I’m thankful we’re finally going to a bowl game. I’m thankful to all the teachers who, from kindergarten to college, have given all of themselves to help me become the person I am today. And I’m thankful I’ll never have to go back to that hell we call high school.

I’m thankful for my friends, who laugh at my obscure “Star Wars” jokes (“It’s a trap!”). I’m thankful for my girlfriend, who loves me in spite of my obscure “Star Wars” jokes (“I don’t know where you get your delusions laser brain”). And what the hell, I’m thankful for my enemies for making my social sphere a more dramatic and exciting place.

I’m thankful for my parents, without whom I could not survive. I’m thankful to my brother, for missing me with that swinging Nerf gun when he was three and hitting Aaron instead. And for being my best friend. I’m thankful to the Lorenzes across the street who may have a different name but are still part of the family.

Most of all, I’m thankful for Jimmy John’s. Whenever I’m craving a ham sandwich at two in the morning, they hook me up.

Nathaniel French is a junior theater studies major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].