As Thanksgiving comes and goes another year, the things I am thankful for keep on growing. I am always thankful for the food on the table, my family, my friends, our safety and health, the opportunities we are presented and able to earn, and so much more. However looking back on this Thanksgiving, something came to mind that I didn't quite think of before. I realized that I am so thankful for the place I am able to call my second home, the University of New Hampshire. While I have been home, a piece of me has been missing and I couldn't figure out exactly what it was. It wasn't until yesterday that I figured the missing piece out. As I was shopping around on black Friday, hoping to find some deals for Christmas gifts, I kept looking around to see people from school. I wasn't hoping to see people from my town or high school, but people I get to see everyday as I walk to classes, go in and out of the dining hall, or the gym. I was longing for those familiar faces and it hit me. I was missing what I was hoping to get away from all week.

Much needed was a break from school and the tight living quarters in the dorm. Enough of all the quizzes, tests, essays and studying for every class left and right. But I had underestimated the close bonds I had made this year and all the familiar faces I would miss out on when being away. This surely was not something I expected to happen when I first came into college, but over the years I am so pleased it did turn out this way. Never did I think that UNH would become my second home, and nevertheless end up missing it after only a mere few days.

I am so thankful for the people who allow me to feel this way and all the opportunities that this school has already provided me. I am now and forever more a Wildcat and couldn't be more happy to say that. We all start out college with the fear of choosing the wrong place and hating everything about it, I even thought I might have chosen wrong at first. But after the time spent at my second home, I know that no other place would make me feel just this way. So again, thank you to all the professors, students, staff, my friends, and the campus itself for letting me know I always have another place to call home.