The first semester back from summer can be filled with joy, stress, and copious amounts of classwork. Which is why when Thanksgiving rolls around, us hardworking Howard students appreciate a welcome reprieve from the uncomfortable twin beds, cafe concoctions, and dreadful 8ams.
My Thanksgiving break starts with a blissful morning of sleeping in without the looming threat of my alarm ringing. Then I spend the rest of the day hanging out with my older siblings and, on occasion, our family friends who sometimes spend the holiday with us.
My actual Thanksgiving Day is filled with some traditional American dishes like mashed potatoes and pie, but we mostly eat Kenyan dishes like chapati, beef stew, and mandazi. If I fight hard enough, sometimes my mom lets me make mac and cheese, but my siblings and I might be the only ones to eat it. You win some, you lose some.
That’s what I look forward to, but on the days leading up to Thanksgiving I went around asking our lovely Her Campus members what they were most looking forward to for this holiday.
A lot of our HC girls were looking forward to the delicious tastes of homemade meals. If some of you were on Howard TikTok a few months ago, you probably saw the M&M pizza that they were serving in the dining hall…no wonder our members were craving some of mom’s home cooking!
“I’m looking forward to a GREAT home cooked meal by my momma!” -Tyhisia Desir, Senior Public Relations major and Political Science minor from Boston, Massachusetts.
“The food! I love going home and eating home-cooked meals after months long of cafeteria food” – Kaila Ruffin, junior film and tv major, French minor from PG County, Maryland
A pillar of Howard University is when you touch down on campus you can’t wait to find your people again. If it’s your first time to the Mecca, you can’t wait to build your community.
Even though we love our newfound family, we always have a soft spot for everyone we leave home—family and friends alike. Many members were really looking forward to seeing their families and hometown friends after three months of being away. Distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder, even I couldn’t wait to see my usually annoying older siblings.
“I look forward to seeing my friends and family. I miss them so much and I’m so sad without them!”– Kyesi Battle, sophomore nursing major from Miami, Florida.
“I am mostly looking forward to being with my family and friends back home. I also hope to gain some much-needed inspirational advice from my family before coming back to finish the fall semester off. Words of encouragement always hit differently when you’re going through it and have your family remind you of how much it took them and myself to reach the level of success that I’m experiencing today. Of course I can’t forget about them plates! I am Guyanese and African American so I’m definitely looking forward to indulging in both cultures’ dishes!” – Aziyah Braithwaite, sophomore speech-language pathology major from New Jersey.
“Baking with my grandmother.” – Sanaa Cherry, sophomore film and TV production major from New Jersey
“Cooking with my family and being at home again!”- Gabrielle Williams, freshman psychology major from Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“I’m very excited to see my hometown friends and family, and specifically spend time with my grandparents:))”- MaKayla Truitt, sophomore transferring to business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship from Savannah, Georgia.
“I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and cooking. We’re spending Thanksgiving in Utah this year, so we get an early winter rather than fall.”- Avani Harrison, sophomore supply chain management major from Shreveport, Louisiana.
“Playing games with my family.”- Victoria Brooks, freshman theatre arts administration major from Memphis, Tennessee.
Even our fury family members get a shout out!
“Seeing my dog!”- Skye Joseph-Richards, Senior, Advertising major, theatre arts minor,
“Seeing all my hometown friends and my dog!”- Danya Jones, honors freshman psychology major from Houston, Texas.
“I can’t wait to see my cat, Pumpkin! Being away in another city has been hard because I’ve basically have been raising him since high school. I’m definitely a cat mom and I’m very happy to be going home!” – Faith Harper, senior journalism major from Chicago, Illinois.
Clearly, we have all been impatiently waiting for this Thanksgiving break, and we are so grateful it is finally here.
As Her Campus Howard VP, I’m wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate), and a restful few days before finals.
Eat, laugh, sleep, and don’t forget to enjoy the moment. I know I will!