Okay. Let’s talk turkey. Some pun intended. I could go into the history of Thanksgiving. I think it’s safe to say that it’s no secret that Thanksgiving is actually based on a massacre of the native people of this land. Of course in elementary school, they only told us that Thanksgiving was when the pilgrims and the “Indians” put aside their differences and Squanto brought the pilgrims corn and everyone ate and lived happily ever after. That’s not the story at all, but I’m not here to give an accurate history lesson. This is about what Thanksgiving means to a college student.
Throughout the semester, some of us are stuck living off of cafeteria food, fast food and ramen noodles. A decent home cooked meal is not easy to come by. Any opportunity to go home and get “real food” is something to be celebrated. One of the best phone conversations is when your mom or any other family members is telling you everything that is on the menu for that upcoming glorious Thursday.
When you finally do make it home and it’s just about time to get the food, one of the family members announces that children eat first. What?! Why? They get the down-home cooking for dinner almost every night and complain about eating the vegetables.
We know this because we used to be those kids. But you mean to tell us that these little people get a plate first because they’re young? College students are young. We’re also tired and “real food-deprived.” The only thing standing between us and the smorgasbord that awaits us would be our little cousins. That’s fine and dandy, except for the fact that you have to wait for the crumbsnatchers to come inside from playing. Have you tried to round up a bunch of hyper, energetic kids? It’s not a five-second chore. You have Little Benny who won’t leave the sandbox. Jr won’t stop pushing Tiffany on the swing set. JoJo is crying because he scraped his knee trying to keep up with his brothers. Nobody is listening to Aunt Marie calling the kids in to eat. You, the neglected, starving college student, are trying to sneak up and fix your own plate. As soon as your uncles and aunts hear that foil move, everybody jumps on your case. I’m not saying I know this from experience, but you get my point. If they kids don’t want to eat, don’t make them.
After your little cousins get their food 45 minutes later, it’s a free for all. Or so you think. Now, you see your great aunt Pearline moseying on up to the line. You know you can’t go ahead of her and make her wait. Out of common courtesy, you offer to fix her plate for her. Or get popped on the head by a relative. Take your pick.
Finally, it is your turn in line. You’ve been anticipating this moment for months. You’re about to pile all this food on your plate and be full for days. You get to the food and the deviled eggs are demolished. There’s one crusty scoop of macaroni left. The chicken and dumplings is nothing but chicken bones and broth. This wouldn’t have happened if you pushed Little Tommy out of the way and broke some rules to get your food.
It’s all good though. You still got plenty of ham, dressing, turkey, and sweet potato pie left. There’s even a whole other sweet potato pie that just got uncovered. You can still dig in, even if you are side-eyeing Little CJ who just trashed two deviled eggs AND the potato salad you didn’t even know about. It’s okay though.
As a matter of fact, you got full off of the food you actually did get. You remember that in a few short days, it’s back to the ramen and dollar menu. Hopefully, at this point you know to savor the flavor. Hopefully, you possess the ability to hold out until Christmas.
I can’t possibly forget about seeing the family at Thanksgiving. That can go many ways. Some people look forward to seeing their relatives for Thanksgiving. Other students don’t. The dreaded topics for college students during the holidays are usually opposing political views, future plans, school, relationships, how you’ve gained or lost weight. One topic that is quite interesting to listen to is family gossip. Who doesn’t like to be a fly on the wall for that?
Thanksgiving means different things for different people. For some, it is a time to be thankful for what/ who you have in your life. For college students, it means food and family. This Thanksgiving, let’s remind college students that they are loved. Let them eat first, or at least after Aunt Pearline. We are tired. We’ve been anticipating this one gigantic meal for ages. Let us be great, family!
Of course, I’m not 100% serious about this article. It was just a little laugh to get everyone ready for the holidays. To the college students, I hope your wait for food is short and your bellies are full.
