It’s Throwback Thursday here at 186 South College! With Thanksgiving Break just around the corner, we wanted to revisit this piece by Audrey Ostroski from 2017 about the anticipation leading up to well-deserved break from course commitments.
Thanksgiving break is almost here! One might not think that this nine-day break is a big deal, but we look forward to those nine little days all semester. Throughout syllabus week, while appraising the work to be done this semester and debating whether or not to drop a class, you can hear the people making the occasional joke, “Is it Thanksgiving break yet?” So, what is it about those nine little days that we all anticipate?
For starters, after 12 weeks of unrelenting class after class, lab after lab, exam after exam, project after project – those nine little days are an oasis in the desert that is the fall semester. Honestly, the semester routine just starts to get old after a while. After the tenth, six-page physics lab report, you start to cringe every time you glance at the Excel icon on your desktop. After the third group project in two weeks, you start to hate the smell of the library study rooms. Even your dorm room might start to feel like it is closing in on you. And sure, there might only be two weeks after we come back from Thanksgiving before finals. Some might say that we should be able to push through without the break. But no, those nine little days are essential and you are not going to be able to convince me otherwise.
For a lot of us, Thanksgiving break is the necessary reprieve before the end of the semester; a much-needed time-out in a very fast paced game. It allows us to recharge for the end of the semester and finals after being drained for 84 days by organic chemistry problem sets, exams requiring 300-term Quizlets, and mastering Physics homework problems. For some, it is a time to just relax and do absolutely nothing. It is a time to binge-watch Netflix. It is a time to go Christmas shopping. It is a time to eat. It is a time to be thankful. It is a time to catch up on school work. It is a time to get ahead on school work. It is a time to actually cross some things off your to-do list. (You know, all the things that you have been meaning to do that have nothing to do with class, but nonetheless have been building up in the back of your mind, silently eating away at you, stressing you out, but not getting done because you have more pressing matters to deal with. Yeah, those things.)
Basically, Thanksgiving break is wonderful no matter how you decide to use it. But one of the best parts of those nine little days is getting to spend time with your family. If you are someone like me, who chose to go to a school close to home, then you probably see your family all the time. But for those of you who live hours away, Thanksgiving is not just a break from school, but time to spend with your family after not seeing them for two and a half months. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because my family and I always go to my aunt’s house for dinner. I get to see all of my little cousins, catch up with my aunts and uncles, and eat so much good food. And the next day we always gather again to bake Christmas cookies. It is nice to be able to do these things and relax after being stressed at college for so long. My family is great at helping me relax. And they are also good at annoying me. But this can actually be helpful. Just when you think you never want to go back to school, your little brother farts in your face for the eighth time and you basically wish the dorms would open a day early. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
