The season of holidays is upon us, and that usually comes with stressful family dinners, days of travel, and relaxing afternoons spent in the house you grew up in. For most of us, this time that's supposed to be relaxing ends up being stressful as we dread the never-ending questions from our family members. Despite the downsides, there are so many upsides, and so many things to be thankful for.
One of the things that we dread being asked the most, especially as seniors, is the age-old "What are you going to be doing next year?" or some variation of that. With so many of us deep in the throes of job hunting, applying, interviewing, and being rejected, it feels like salt on the already-stinging wound. Our first instinct is to wonder why our family members are asking these types of questions, but we have to remember a few things before getting upset. Our grandparents come from a different generation. I am one of very few people who have had all four of my grandparents go to college. For them, this nearly guaranteed a job the moment they received their degrees. One of my grandfathers started his own business, one ended up working for a bank, one of my grandmothers worked in high schools, and another was a nurse for a very long time. They want to know that we are going to try to provide for ourselves and that we have definitive goals in mind. When they're coming from a place where they got married at the same age we will be graduating college, you can't quite blame them for expecting you to have a future planned out. They ask because they love you, not because they want to upset you. Our family members want nothing more than for us to be able to continue, or jumpstart, our independence in life. They see other Millennials struggling to find jobs, struggling to move out on their own, and they want more for their kids and grandkids.
I am thankful that my family cares about me so much.
For those of us with younger siblings, we can find immense stress in them wanting to spend time with us, our parents asking us to drive them around, and trying to help them with various school related activities. Our siblings look up to us, and our parents trust us enough to take care of them. Without you as a role model, your siblings would be very different people, and that's not necessarily a good thing. My freshman year of college my brother seemed more stressed than ever when I would come home. Now, he wants to talk about college classes, his fraternity, girl problems, and about life in general. Having a sibling who is at the same place in life is a blessing, and it's so much fun to see him grow and mature. Siblings even younger than that look at us and see adults—full grown, mature, independent adults. Little do they know, we are perhaps the exact opposite. However, they love us and idolize us, and we have to take that into consideration.
I am thankful that I can be a role model to my younger brother.
And finally, the dreaded family dinners: This year, my family will only be hosting my aunt for the holiday. Growing up it seemed like everyone possible would be crammed into our house, with my parents cooking and everyone else bringing extra side dishes. To say the least, I was a very picky eater as a child on holidays and would only ever eat mashed potatoes and maybe some turkey. Now, I've added turkey, corn, and gravy, but that's about it. When your parents are stressed out all day about cooking, and the added stress from miscellaneous family members being there is added, it's all we can do to prevent ourselves from hiding away in our rooms. In high school, I was able to get away with napping after the yearly football game, but that won't fly anymore. I make the best of it by suggesting a movie to watch, telling my aunt every single boring detail of my life, and keeping my brother out of the kitchen. To say the least, I'm usually glad when the entire ordeal is over, but actually sitting down to eat is the best part of the day.
I am thankful that my family listens to me and that my parents still cook for us.
Happy Thanksgiving from me and my family to you and yours.
