Today marks the 98th anniversary of Veterans Day. The day was first called Armistice Day, and it was created at the end of World War I to honor the veterans that have served our country. It is a day for all Americans to come together and consider the great feats that all veterans have accomplished in order to keep our country safe.

Because Veterans Day is on Nov. 11 every year, it tends to fall on a school day. In Hillsborough County, we don’t have to go to school. Unfortunately, because it cuts into the school year, students tend to look at the holiday as a day off rather than an important time for our country.

Nowadays, students are packed with so much work and stress that they are unable to live the same lives that adults enjoyed 20 years ago. Back when people went out to celebrate Veterans Day at the beach, or at parades, or at family dinners. However, we just see it as a day for us to be able to sleep in, relax and ignore our responsibilities for a few more hours of the week.

Even on Tuesday, at the end of the school day, the last thing that was said during the afternoon announcements was to “enjoy our day off.” But this isn’t an attack on administration, or on any teachers for that matter – we are all guilty of seeing this day as simply a day off of school.

Robinson is a military school. It’s located just down the street from MacDill Air Force Base. Therefore, it is no surprise that a lot of the student population has family members in the military. We have a strong base of supporters for our veterans, and we should do more things in order to emphasize the importance of why we have a day set aside for them.

This holiday encourages Americans to give veterans the attention that they deserve. What we don’t all realize is that veterans go out into battle with the possibility of getting shot at any second.

Our veterans risk their lives to keep our freedom, independence and strength as a nation. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

Yes, we have “a day off.” But we should look forward to it, and not just so we have extra time to do our homework (or to put it off). We should be eager to go out to those annual Veterans Day ceremonies. We should be ready to help out the homeless veterans that don’t deserve to be hungry just because they’re missing an arm. And we should be thrilled to get the chance to thank or veterans for everything that they have done.