Thanksgiving is probably one of the most underappreciated holidays. It does not bring the joy of Christmas or Easter, and most children could care less about the holiday. That is, until you get to college. I am a firm believer that, as a college student, Thanksgiving is the most important holiday.
Thanksgiving is the most important holiday because Thanksgiving break is the most important break. It is the break all students desperately need. It is at this point in the semester that our dining dollars run low, along with our motivation and our energy. We all need to go home. Regardless of how old you are or where your home is, everyone needs a break from campus and from the life of a college student.
We need home cooked meals. We need sleep. And, some of us (probably more than will admit) just need our parents.
When I was in high school Thanksgiving was my least favorite holiday. In fact, a large part of me actually hated it so much that it was almost unbearable. Most of the time I didn’t get to see my whole family, and the few times I did it was filled with yelling and bantering.
I dreaded Thanksgiving dinner because it meant eating, smiling, and biting my tongue until it was polite to get up and leave. As a college student, I look forward to the holiday I dreaded as a child. When the bantering begins I smile to myself, realizing I missed even the irritating parts of my family.
Thanksgiving is the first holiday break of the semester. It is the first chance for most students to see their entire family, whom they’ve been missing for three months. Thanksgiving reminds you that, no matter how dysfunctional family gatherings can get, there has always been a small charm to them. You realize how much you really miss it.
Home-cooked food of any kind is a commodity in college and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to get an overdose of it. Thanksgiving is the holiday college students can stuff their faces with as much home-cooked food as they want and it is viewed as normal. They are not judged for being their hungry college student selves, because it is a holiday that encourages everyone to let out their inner hungry college student.
So, when you pack up to go home for Thanksgiving, smile a little bigger and appreciate it a little more. Eat all the food your stomach can hold and nod at the uncle who starts screaming at dinner. Remember that all of this makes up your home, no matter how crazy or ridiculous.
College, no matter how much you love it, will never replace home.
Thanksgiving is the break that reconnects us with our roots right when we start to burn out, and revives us for finals.
Do not take it for granted.