Thanksgiving is a time that causes people to think about why they are thankful. However, there are a select few who wake up every day thinking how lucky they are to have what they have, even when it is not much.

During my recent trip to San Antonio for the Texas Association of Journalism Educators State Convention, I met Mr. John Isaac. He was born in Madras, India and came to America in 1968, arriving with 75 cents in his pocket. After moving up through a series of jobs, Isaac started working as a photographer for the United Nations. During his career he became the Chief of the Photography Unit for the U.N. This profession gave him the opportunity to travel to more than 100 countries and capture some of history’s remarkable moments.

Isaac has taken not only magnificent pictures throughout various countries, but he has also published books, including his recent one titled “The Vale of Kashmir.”

Throughout his career, Isaac has befriended many different types of people, ranging from those he photographed during the Ethiopian famine and the genocide in Rwanda to actress Audrey Hepburn and Michael Jackson.

Generally when you read about famous people, or people who have become important in the world, you might think they are arrogant or that they wouldn’t waste their time talking to someone who they might see as beneath them.

This was not the case with Isaac. Spending time with him in a photography class on the streets of San Antonio and hearing him speak about the people he has known showed me that he accepted everyone.

He took the time to hear a homeless man’s story and share it with the students at TAJE, when most people would have shied away from a man on the streets. When he spoke of his work, he told us that he always talked with the people in his pictures before he took the photograph. He said he did not want to photograph a stranger.

I learned from Isaac, not only tips on photography, but that I should be accepting of everyone, regardless of how “different” they might seem. His photographs from around the world remind me that I should be thankful for what I have, because others are not as fortunate as we are in America.