BREAKING NEWS: Thanksgiving Is Lost

BREAKING NEWS: Thanksgiving Is Lost

Stop being un-American, and start marketing Thanksgiving.
Shelby G Rakestraw
Shelby G Rakestraw Nov 10, 2017
46
views

BREAKING NEWS: Thanksgiving has been lost.

The aisles have overlooked it, the ads have bypassed it, and the calendar has all but erased it from record. I don't understand. Why is is that society has collectively decided to just forget about Thanksgiving? Why do we jump from promoting Halloween to promoting Christmas? What has Thanksgiving done to deserve the shaft like that?

When I walk into Wal-Mart the day after Halloween and see Christmas trees and wrapping paper everywhere, I'm like:

I mean, really, Thanksgiving is great. Food. Family. Political arguments over the dinner table. Older family members asking what you're doing with your life. What's not to love?

Seriously, though. Why is Thanksgiving so overlooked and under-marketed? I know I'm the first in line for my new cornucopia centerpiece every year. And the hanging gourds are a must-have. I think Thanksgiving should be marketed as a marriage between a dress-up holiday, much like Halloween, and a gift-giving holiday like Christmas. Forget about actually celebrating being thankful and focus on what gift you're receiving from your pilgrim-costume-clad nana. Stop thanking, start soliciting gifts.

I think it's a sham that Thanksgiving is basically the only American holiday untouched by corporate greed and manufactured demand. I mean, how dare we let Thanksgiving actually be about being thankful? That's just so un-American .

We're getting close, though. The idea of being thankful is slowly, but surely, being replaced with the notion that we have to consume, and consume, and consume food until we're literally so sick that we have to go to sleep. So we are almost there. We have almost hit Halloween-level consumption promotion. Well done, America.


Now, if only we could convince the children that shoveling sixty-five Brussels sprouts down their throats is the same as sixty-five Kit Kats, we'd be set for maximum marketability.

Really, I think it is all the kids' faults. Thanksgiving is just too mature for them. And if you can't market to kids, you can't market to anyone. Christmas isn't successful because the adults find joy in spoiling the actual hell out of their children. Christmas is successful because we've convinced ourselves that joy is impossible unless we spoil our children. What better way to spoil a five-year old than with yams and cranberry sauce, amiright?

Seriously, I'm tired of Thanksgiving being so overlooked. It's terrible that we haven't found a way to suck American pockets dry by manufacturing some useless stuff everyone has to have in order to enjoy a holiday and pad the wallets of corporate monkeys to lazy to groom it out of us themselves.

So, here's to making Thanksgiving the next super-market decoration sensation. And Merry Christmas!


Shelby G Rakestraw
Shelby G Rakestraw Nov 10, 2017
At Georgia State University

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An Open Letter To Every Athlete On Their Senior Night

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"
Cally Audet
Cally Audet Feb 24, 2016
44465
views

Dear Seniors,

For many of you, today was a day that you had always wished would come sooner, only to find that when the day arrived wishing for it to come was the last thing you truly ever wanted.

When stepping out onto the court or field or rink for the very last time today, take a moment to stand quietly and look out into the crowd, look to your teammates, to your coaches, and to your fellow seniors, and remember the way this made you feel, as this is a feeling you will remember for the rest of your life.

Today and every day moving forward will be filled with memories that will last you a lifetime.

Today is a day bound to be filled with endless amounts of tears, both happy and sad, so let it be. Let these feelings consume you, and serve as a reminder that no matter where you may go in life from this very moment, that you have made a family of your own. That you have changed the lives of others by just simply being in theirs.

That all the little things were really the big things, like the nicknames you had for your teammates, or your favorite song to sing in the locker room before a game. These things that never seemed to mean anything at the time are all the things that you will carry with you when you leave this place you call your home away from home.

On this day, years from now you will not remember the wins and losses of each season, but the people that took this journey with you and never let you look back.

The teammates that picked you up and carried you through the good and the bad of each day. The ones that taught you to see the good in all things. The ones who never let you live down the stupid things you did, mainly because they did them with you. And even the ones that you couldn't stand 99.9% percent of the time.

You will remember the coaches that pushed you and never let you give up.

You will remember all the times they yelled and made you run until you couldn't walk. The times that they depended on you to be the leaders we all knew you could be. But more than any of that, you will remember the opportunity they gave you to play the game you learned to love, the game that changed your life, the game that taught you more lessons about life, love and dedication than anything ever could.

On this day I ask you to remember a few things. I ask that you remember that the impact you have had on your teammates' lives is unmeasurable, never doubt that. The time you have spent dedicated to this sport that you love was never, EVER a waste of your time, because you are a better person because of it.

I ask you to remember that although the sadness you may hold in your heart overwhelms you, that you have found a part of you along this journey that will help you follow your dreams, whatever they may be.

Play your heart out today, and leave knowing you've given it all you've got just one last time. Leave knowing that you are one of the lucky ones. Remember the love, remember the defeat, remember the laughs and the tears, remember the battle wounds. Remember this feeling, always and forever.

Best of Luck,

Your Biggest Fan

Cally Audet
Cally Audet Feb 24, 2016
At Nichols College

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You Should Challenge Yourself Every Single Day And Reflect On It

Never shy away from doing or conquering something bigger than your comfort zone.

Alyssa Paluch
Alyssa Paluch Oct 15, 2018
40
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Yikes, senior year is killing me. Multiple assignments are due at the same time, and I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done. I also have a late-night job one to three nights a week, so some of my nights are occupied by having fun and making money to balance my bank account. To add to that, I have student teaching, PLUS volunteering on a weekly basis.

I do a lot and I don't know how I'm surviving.

To be honest, some of this doesn't happen by chance. Of course, I have to go to class and work, but I don't have to volunteer. I don't have to dedicate my time to all of these extracurriculars, but I do. I don't have to fill every day with something to do, but there is a reason for everything.

Amid all this mess, I am challenging myself, and you should, too.

At least I am not bored every day, sitting in my room, surrounding myself with just classwork. When I was a freshman, I legit *lived* in my room, only leaving for class and meals. That's it. I didn't want to volunteer or get my face known because I was too afraid of drowning.

I was terrified of losing myself. I was scared of not having enough time. I was horrified of meeting new people, honestly.

I give props to my boyfriend, for getting me out there and for the motivation for this article. I joined extracurriculars when I was a sophomore when my boyfriend brought me to a movie night event, and I haven't been the same since. Reclusing was dangerous and I challenged myself to get out there and make a new family within the Student Center.

I owe it all to my boyfriend, and he already knows this.

Yes, right now, I may be sinking and trying to organize my thoughts. I'm trying my best not to forget everything this week, but that is also a challenge in itself. I honestly want my time occupied.

This is why you should do this, too. Get into the habit of setting goals and challenging yourself. Step outside of your comfort zone, and never shy away from conquering something bigger.

Challenging yourself can increase your self-worth. It'll start a chain reaction. Once you start, you won't stop. It may seem scary at first, believe me, but it only betters you in the end.

After busting out of your comfort zone and showing people who you really are, reflect on it. My boyfriend got me into this habit of reflecting on my week every Sunday. Reflecting on your challenges and triumphs can make a better you, and it makes you want to do it all over again.

Tell it to yourself. Stand in the mirror and tell your reflection what you learned and how you challenged yourself for the week. Help yourself out; you'll do you a favor.

Reflection is a good technique because you can go over what went right and what went wrong. You can find out what you need to do better, how to manage your time better, how to make something better. If you're daring, go from reflecting every week to reflecting every day.

It feels good to feel better. Try it.

Alyssa Paluch
Alyssa Paluch Oct 15, 2018
At Rowan University

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