Thanksgiving will be coming up this week, and many college students are headed home to see their family for presumably the last time until the semester ends. Thanksgiving has always been a somewhat special time for my family, as we have hosted Thanksgiving at our house for as long as I can remember. Family from Ithaca come up to Massachusetts once a year to visit us, and this is the only time we see them yearly.
Family has never been a large part of my life growing up, in terms of extended family. Much of my extended family lives hundreds of miles away, and it leaves little ability to sufficiently keep in touch with them. As I grow up, I have been better at keeping better contact with some of them, but it can still prove to be a very difficult thing. Thanksgiving has given me an outlet to at least see some of them every year, catch up, and move on with our lives. I rarely think of Thanksgiving as a holiday, but rather, an excuse to see many people that I love for the only time that year, and remember why I love them.
It's always a crowded house during Thanksgiving at my home. There will be my parents, myself, my two sisters, my brother-in-law, my aunt and uncle, and my three cousins, essentially living in the same house for nearly a week (and it's only a three bedroom home!). For an introvert such as myself, this can be hard and overwhelming. Yet I quickly get over it when I realize that I am going to see people that I haven't seen in forever, and that I love.
Ultimately, however, I think of the friends that I have that do not necessarily feel comfortable going home and seeing their families. I hope they find friends to spend Thanksgiving with that they love and adore, and are accepted with. I hope that everybody has somewhere to go to spend this holiday. It can be lonely not having anywhere to go, yet it is important that everybody does what is best for them and their well-being.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and comes back refreshed from all of that turkey and stuffing, ready to finish the semester off with a bang!
