Even though the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is kind of a giant advertisement, it’s a tradition – a staple in the lives of most Americans/Amuricans (however you choose to pronounce it). I even saw it live once in 2007, before I decided I needed to avoid it and the terrible crowds at all costs.

Yet, I will always have a special connection to this parade, ever since I graduated from Ithaca College. Amy Kule, the Executive Producer of the parade (the lady that walks in front) was a graduate of my alma mater, and the speaker at my graduation. She brought those Macy’s star balloons – the ones that you see every year – but painted them with Ithaca colors.

Obviously Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for family, friends and opportunities. But Thanksgiving is a perfectly timed yearly reminder for me, and I’m sure other Ithacans, to remember what Amy said that day in May, a reminder to make your own opportunities and to truly enjoy what you do and how you live your life.

She said…

“You will find the most onerous chains to break in our lives are the ones that you’ve tethered there yourselves. The world is moving at an incredible speed right now, and let me say it’s very easy to lose focus. . . . But in order for you to move forward today and begin to find the path that leads to your personal passion, it’s also important to understand and embrace professional and personal failure.”

So on this Thanksgiving, be thankful for YOU! For your own path and your own decisions, no matter where you are in your career and in life. There are more successes to come, just live in the moment and enjoy.

In the words of Amy Kule 2012, on Thanksgiving 2015, I wish you the following:

“…enormous success, a little bit of failure, a lot of laughter, a few road bumps, a loving family, and hopefully only a touch of sorrow.”

Happy T-day.