Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's a day that is revolved around food and being thankful. What is there not to love? Gossip Girl said it best when she said, "Because today's the one day a year you're supposed to count your blessings. And not your calories." I know that Thanksgiving began centuries ago, but I have no doubt that the pilgrims and Indians were thinking of college students in the process of the first Thanksgiving meal.
Free Home-Cooked Meals
College students will go anywhere and do anything for a free meal. It's a proven fact that if you're hosting an event on campus, free food boosts attendance by 100%. I will go far out of my way for a free meal. It's a hard world out there when you have to pay for every meal. Plus, if you're anything like me, you go weeks without a home-cooked meal. If it can't be microwaved or ordered off a dollar menu, I don't eat it. So a free buffet of home-cooked food literally sounds like heaven to college students. Also, #blessed to have a holiday where calories don't count.
Break from School
At my school, Thanksgiving break is followed by finals week. Professors pile high assignments, projects and last minute tests before Thanksgiving week in an attempt to complete the semester before finals start. This alone is enough to make anyone go crazy. If you make it through the week before Thanksgiving break without crying, I applaud you. Therefore, Thanksgiving is a much needed break to keep our insanity intact, while still having to prepare for finals. For the week, we can go home to family while trying to forget the emotional trauma we've suffered through.
Family Time
Sometimes all you need is your mom. Through the crazy schedule of college students, sometimes going home to family can be forgotten. There is something about the stability of family and home that can make you forget your worries. Even though they may seem overly-interested in our lives, you know you have missed them too. Not to mention, being around your family reminds you where you got your crazy.
Black Friday
I know this technically isn't part of the Thanksgiving holiday, but it is a tradition that now starts on Thanksgiving, whether or not you like it. Black Friday is a day for deals, which I love. I get a head start on Christmas shopping while saving a few bucks here and there, which is always a good thing for college students.
Thanks for looking out, pilgrims and Indians. The positive impact you have made on college students will never be forgotten.