Thanksgiving Break may be how you have pushed through and survived the last few weeks of life as a college student with mid-terms, final exams, and final projects.
It can all be overwhelming. But maybe when you've found yourself procrastinating or starting to slack off these last few weeks, you've used words of encouragement along the lines of, "Come on. Just make it to Thanksgiving Break." Maybe you've thought of sleeping in and skipping lecture but told yourself there will be plenty of time to sleep in over break. I think it's safe to say there are plenty of things college students won't miss on their highly anticipated time off.
1. Waking Up Early
Waking up early is arguably the worst thing about college. Who has the motivation or desire to listen to a lecture about financing, literary theory, or government at 8 in the morning? Most college kids have probably slept through at least one of their early mornings, or stayed up way too late the night before and decided to skip. But soon, it will be Thanksgiving break, and there will be no need to set an alarm. So when break hits, sleep until noon if you so desire and feel free to ignore the outside world.
I think all college kids can relate when I say sometimes it is really hard to enjoy non-academic activities, social events, or really anything when you are constantly feeling the pressure of deadlines. Your professor assigns an analysis with an extensive reference and page requirement, and it will be all you think about until you hand that sucker in. Thanksgiving break means much needed down time and a hiatus from all those deadlines hanging over your head.
No one enjoys going to lectures or labs. Especially if they are early in the morning or are of the never ending three hour type of class. Thanksgiving break means not having to go to either of these. It also means not going through that feeling of mass hysteria when you miss an entire page of notes because your professor goes through the slides at an overwhelmingly accelerated rate. This is something college students know to be one of the most stressful elements of college courses. Aside from trying to keep up with the thrill of note taking, we can all agree lecture is a little less than exciting and is definitely something no one will miss over break.
Being a college students means being surrounded by fast-food chains, campus restaurants, and cafeteria food. It sounds great when you go on college visits, the first few weeks of school, and is handy most days, but eating like this everyday can lead you to craving home cooked meals. Cue Thanksgiving break where students are free, rather encouraged, to pig out on some real quality food. PSA : calories don't count on Thanksgiving.
Being away from your pet is one of the worst things in the world. They give you that sad little face, and make you feel so guilty that it's hard to enjoy anything until you return home to them. I have trouble leaving my dogs long enough to run to the store. However, I am fortunate to attend a university where I still get to live with my dogs. But, this is not true for most college kids. I cannot imagine what it's like to spend weeks, months for some, away from your pet. In my opinion this should be best thing about time off from school. Who doesn't hate being away from their fur babies?
Some people like their own space, but I know some of you are thinking ,"I love sharing a room. I love my roommate". And that is fine, great even. However, over break when you return home, back to the room that is all yours, and made up of all things you and what you love, it can be pretty nice and nostalgic. You don't have to worry about waking your roommate up when you want to stay up and watch "The Office", or when you sneak out to get a late night snack. Also, you get a little time to yourself to do whatever you want. And the best part is, no one has to agree on what to watch on Netflix. The power is all yours.
Public bathrooms, especially for showering, suck for several obvious reasons. They often do not smell well, there's a serious lack of privacy, and you don't get to decorate it how you want and fill it with seasonal Bath & Body Works candles and hand soaps. While I know there are doors/curtains, it's just kind of weird that someone you see in lecture is showering two feet away from you, while you're also showering. Really just a weird part of college and something no one will miss over Thanksgiving break.
If you live decently far from college, odds are you will get to take some time off work for Thanksgiving break. If this is you, you're incredibly lucky to have time where not only are you not forced to attend lectures, writes synopses, study the human brain, or participate in lab, but also not to work. Ahh Thanksgiving break. Such a glorious time.
Other than Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving break is a great time to catch up with friends. Those who take college quite seriously, know that sometimes it can be hard to balance both school, work, and a social life. This is the perfect time to get together and have something to talk about other than finals, huge projects, and how sorry you feel for yourself that you have to do all of that. Now you can discuss more important things like the new Taylor Swift album, the 300th episode of "Grey's Anatomy", and whichever Kardashian is rumored to be pregnant that day.
For the days you're not feeling so social, Thanksgiving break is the perfect time to catch up on all the shows a college schedule doesn't permit. Depending on your school, you may have a week or so off. I'd say that's plenty of time to make it through "Stranger Things".
