As the semester winds down, the amount of work, tests, and stress exponentially increases. Everything needs to be done by a certain date, and those deadlines slowly become very daunting. In the middle of this chaos is when Thanksgiving break comes to the rescue. Thanksgiving break comes right as morale starts to run low and as all the work becomes overwhelming. Although the break serves as a time to catch up on schoolwork rather than to rest, being surrounded by loved ones and delicious food makes it much more bearable.
I have been unable to go home for Thanksgiving break since I've started college, but this doesn’t mean that I haven’t felt my family's love and support. For the past two years, my assignments have lined up in a way that I have spent my breaks studying and working. I miss my family, but I know that it wouldn’t be fun to fly up north to home for a few days and spend my time there working on school assignments.
Even though it sounds sad, it really isn’t. I know for a fact that a lot of my friends do the same, and so we take the opportunity to celebrate Friendsgiving together. My friends have become like my family: We live together, cry together, give each other a hard time, and always have each other’s backs. Being able to spend this time with them means a lot to me because it gives us a break from the daily grind for a little bit and time to enjoy a few hours together. I’m thankful for that break. I’m thankful that I have friends that make the absence of my family more bearable and even kind of fun. We can all sit around, eat unhealthy food, and be excited for the end of the semester and the brief reprieve that accompanies it.
Nothing beats being with family and reminiscing about past years while eating copious amounts of food, but being nostalgic with friends while eating a gallon of hummus comes pretty darn close. They make it worth staying on a practically abandoned campus and wandering in search of food. Everything becomes an adventure -- even doing homework together becomes fun. Even though I’m working through break, it’s much nicer to not be stressed out about going home and coming back while still trying to work on homework in an efficient manner. Plus, misery loves company, and working with friends beats working alone any day.
This Thanksgiving, despite all the work and the stress of the end of the semester, I’m thankful for my friends. I’m thankful that they have put up with me all this time and still continue to listen to my problems. I’m thankful that they have given me a second family when my family is hundreds of miles away. I’m thankful for our Friendsgiving.
P.S. Friends won’t ask awkward questions about relationships, jobs, school, or grades because they already know everything there is to know about those topics.
P.P.S. Friendsgiving can be done in pajamas while lounging around couches.
