Thanking someone for holding a door for you may hold a different value than someone saving your life, but both actions should be appreciated. Politeness is taken for granted too often, and it seems to be happening more and more as the years pass. Unfortunately, using the phrase “thank you” is becoming an act of the past.

“People don’t think that they have to anymore,” sophomore Kayla Drew said. “Society has become a thing where everyone thinks everything is owed to them, so saying ‘thank you’ for something isn’t really something they’d think of.”

The problem at hand is whether people will continue to forget to be thankful, or if they will help influence others to show their appreciation. It is not uncommon for people to forget to show their appreciation for someone else’s kind actions. Looking at how appreciative people are, the current adults and our elders seem to appreciate the little things done for them more than our youth.

“I think that previous generations were not as privileged and spoiled, and I think that they had more gratitude,” junior Noel MacGregor said.

Going out of their way to help someone else will lose its worth for some people after not being rewarded for helping someone else. People may think that there is not a reason to be helpful or kind when they are not going to be put in the spotlight for it. However, students like senior Ethan Williams see how actions can be forgotten, but still go out of their way to help others.

“It happens to everyone, I think,” Williams said. “You do something that is super tasking, something that you wouldn’t do every day because it’s just unnecessary, but it’s a really nice thing and, people just don’t notice it.”

Despite the few that do not act because of the attention they will not receive, some students still go out of their way to help someone else. They see someone struggling with their papers or trying to get something just out of their reach, and they assist, regardless of whether their act will be acknowledged or not.

“I’d feel a little bit disappointed if they didn’t thank me for it, but if they didn’t, I’d still feel proud of myself for doing it because it’s just something you should do,” Drew said.

Appreciation is not absolutely necessary, but it doesn’t need to be forgotten. A moment of time spent appreciating what someone did for them shouldn’t be seen as an inconvenience for anyone.