As a child, Thanksgiving was always one of my favorite holidays of the year. From the endless supply of food on the tables, to all of the extended family I was able to see. As I am a freshman in college I am slowly beginning to realize that Thanksgiving is so much more.
Going Home
For some college students, Thanksgiving may be the first time they truly get to go home. Three months without seeing your family has to be hard. As for me, I have gone home a handful of times, but this time I get to stay for five days. This means that I get to sleep in my large-not-XL-twin size bed five times! That is a reason in itself why this is the best holiday yet.
Family
If your family is anything like mine, Thanksgiving is a time for all of the extended family to come in. I have family from all over and Thanksgiving is the one holiday that every one of them comes home. As I also have cousins who are in college, this is our first time all seeing each other again. After experiencing your first few months of being off on your own, there is a lot that you and your childhood partner in crime need to catch up on. What better way to see everyone and catch up than over a Thanksgiving dinner?
When I say football, yes I mean NFL. All of the men and teens sit around the living room silently, but mainly because they are actually falling asleep after the meal they just devoured. Every now and then the girls hear a loud “Touchdown!” as they are gossiping in the dining room. (When this happens you also see the uncle who has dozed off in the corner jump up with the “ I’m going to act like I know what just happened” face). While the NFL game is very important, I am also talking about the post-lunch-pre-dinner football game that takes place each year. In my case our sports vary between football and kickball. (We sometimes play kickball because football involves too much running after that meal.) In this, the whole family is outside. You have Grandma and Grandpa sitting on the sidelines and all the children begging their parents to get up and play. The boys suggest boys against girls, but that never works out. Teams are split and the game begins. This is where you come home and get your “workout for the semester” in. This makes you feel better about all the Ramen you have eaten after midnight over the past few months.
Food
As first year college students, most of us have been eating dining hall food every day, two to three times a day, for more than three months. If you are anything like me you would do anything for a home cooked meal. Thanksgiving is one huge table filled with all of your favorite home cooked foods, and an endless supply of them. As if you aren’t already stuffed after the mashed potatoes that you drowned in gravy, or the stuffing that you went back three times for, you somehow have managed to save room for dessert. The only dessert you’ve had for three months is a cookie so the table filled with chocolate covered strawberries, cobblers, and pumpkin pies isn’t something you can avoid. You can’t just have one; it is pretty much an unspoken rule that you try everything.
Black Friday Shopping
Lastly you end your Thanksgiving with the most dangerous shopping day of the year. Previously you may have passed up when your mom offered to take you with her, but this year you jump to the offer. You are now classified as a “broke college student,” and any opportunity for someone to buy you a new article of clothing is one to jump at. Although it is a crazy day, it is worth every bit for that sweater or pair of shoes on sale.
So for all of you college students going home for Thanksgiving, embrace it. Embrace being with your family, eating great food, and sleeping in your bed. When exam week comes around in less than a month, you’re going to think back to Thanksgiving wishing you slept more, ate more, and were playing football with the family rather than cramming in the library from midnight to noon.
