This Thanksgiving, my family had a smaller crowd than usual: 23 people, to be exact. I was stuck at the “kids table” for the 13th year in a row!

But, hey, I shouldn’t be complaining. The oldest one there is 30!

With Thanksgiving over, I’ve taken time to acknowledge what I’m grateful for: health, family relationships and the little things in life. Experts say showing gratitude is important and holds many physical, psychological and social benefits.

Of course, instead of counting our blessings, we teens, at times, foolishly count our problems. We complain about not having the latest iPhone, or not going on the coolest vacation or having too much homework.

I’m grateful for my health. One of my aunts has cancer and has had six rounds of chemo. I’m grateful she’s in remission. As youthful teens, we take our health for granted. We’re in the prime years of our life physically, socially and mentally.

I’m grateful for living with both my parents. Even if they do drive us insane, there may be a bit more to them than nagging and complaints.

My cousins no longer live with both parents. One of my uncles recently went through a divorce, which separated him from his three young children, all under the age of 5.

He came to our Thanksgiving celebration, and his kids did not. That made me feel sad because I miss them, and it made me feel sad for my uncle because he didn’t see his kids on the holiday.

I mean, I see my parents every day and start to think of it less as a gift and more of a burden. But for a father separated from his children, I can’t imagine what he must feel like.

I’m grateful for the little things in life. As teens, we often forget about the lunch money that is handed to us, or who pays for tickets to the game or how the car now has a full tank of gas.

Aside from the big things in life — a roof over our heads, the food on our table, the clothes on our backs — I’m grateful for the little things that bring me joy.

For me, nothing is better than a steamy cup of hot chocolate, flannel sheets or a good grade.

For many of us teens, gratitude is tough because life is hard for us. Between school, chores and drama, we have more than enough to gripe about.

But compared to most people in this world, we have it easy in a land of opportunity. Of course, we will always face problems, but as the sign in my house says, “life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.”

A lot of us teens keep journals or diaries. One way for us teens to remain grateful is to jot down a few things that we’re thankful for each day in our journals.

I’m heeding my own advice. For me, gratitude is a choice.

Maria Proulx, a student at Saint Bernard School, lives in Ledyard.