Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, honorable judges and distinguished¹ guest! This is Alex time! Ha-ha…My topic today is to show our gratitude² to people around you.

Then what is gratitude? At the moment a well-known song comes into my mind. Yes, that is called Heart of feel grateful. My heart is filled up with gratitude because I’m with you/Your make me courageous³ to be myself from cradle to the grave/So now I wanna thank for destiny/I’ll cherish the flower when it blooms until falls. The poetic⁴ lyric⁵ tells us that gratitude is actually a state of mind.

Once upon a time, the Pilgrims took the May Flower Ship to North America. They started a new life there although a lot of difficulties and hardships they encountered. After a long-time work, they got a big harvest. The Pilgrims had a feast in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is often referred to as the first Thanksgiving. People show their sincere gratitude towards the God, the nature, the earth, the river, the Indians and themselves. Moreover the 1621 feast has become a model for the Thanksgiving celebration in the United States. So we can see gratitude is an action to take.

How can we express our gratitude? It’s never a simple question to answer. Gratitude is a rare jewel, not a piece of cake, I know. But how can we expect such big events happening now and then? How can we be ready to say thank you ahead of time? How can we always hope to be grateful to everything and everyone for their dignity and generosity⁶? Sometimes I may ask to myself. Is it moral? Is it honest? Is it beneficial? Is it necessary? or the most interesting one, is it ridiculous? Ha-ha…So in my opinion, we’d better concentrate on our life’s details. Keep your eyes open to your daily life. Yes! A shining smile is supposed to be gratitude. A thank-you note is supposed to be gratitude. A soulful watch is supposed to be gratitude. As far as a baby’s crying on his arrival is supposed to be gratitude. And even fallen leaves in autumn are supposed to be gratitude. So the person, who stands here giving you a speech, is also showing HIS gratitude.

At last, what’s the significance of showing our gratitude? A proverb says that Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Wow! Until now I am not that kind of giant, but I dare to say that everyone, you and me, has the right and the duty to show our gratitude to the world, no matter rich or poor, happy or sad, young or old. Only by doing so can we achieve our human ultimate concern. Meanwhile it obviously helps to build up a harmonious⁷ society. Under the same sky we enjoy the same sunshine and appreciate the same love due to thanking and caring each other. Well, does it Plato’s paradise?

All in all, a world full of gratitude is preciously expected for thousands of years. Why not show our gratitude to people around you?

Thank you very much!