The Best
1. Your own Bed
There’s just something inherently magical about flopping onto your bed in your childhood bedroom for the first time in months – especially after sleeping on a thin, rigid dorm mattress. But beyond the comfort factor, there’s also the peacefulness of having a place all to yourself once again. Sometimes you don’t realize how much you missed the quiet solitude of your own bedroom until you have a roommate bumbling in at all hours of the night.
2. The Food
Does this even need any further elaboration? After weeks of being away from home, the same old dining hall fare or homemade creations (read: grilled cheese and pasta) in one’s off-campus residence are beginning to wear a bit thin. Thanksgiving, the holiday that really serves as a thinly disguised excuse to stuff yourself full of all that is savory, could not come at a better time.
3. Seeing your Friends
Say what you will about high school friends, but the people who have stuck with you through the awkward, pimple-y, and Limited Too-clad years are worth keeping in touch with on visits back home. There’s nothing better than taking a break from all of your worldly college exploits to goof around and laugh about your friend’s disastrous first hook up story for the billionth time.
4. Family
Speaking of the people who know you best, family is always one of the best reasons to get excited about break. It’s been just long enough to forget about all of your mom’s annoying quirks or the fact that your sister always steals your clothes, and you can reunite in peace and harmony.
The Worst
1. Family
Twist! Yes, seeing family again after months apart can be a blessing. But it can just as quickly devolve into a curse when you remember just how loud your brother is when he chews with his mouth opened, or how grating your mom’s voice can be when she’s nagging you about washing your dishes. Thanksgiving also brings extended family into the mix. Make sure you practice your “How’s school going?” responses for the ten trillion times you’ll inevitably be asked. It’s also best to have a strong defense ready for when that same uncle berates you for the umpteenth time about studying art history in this economy. Sigh.
2. Schoolwork
There’s always at least one professor that seems to think students shouldn’t have a break from work, regardless of what the BU calendar dictates. Though the particularly sadistic professor will assign an essay or a project to do over break, more often than not it’s just pointless busy work, which is nearly as frustrating. It’s called Thanksgiving break for a reason…
3. Traveling
Regardless of whether you live in Springfield, Mass., or Springfield, Nova Scotia, the prospect of travel always puts a damper on the otherwise enjoyable going-home process. Even with a variety of transportation options, the travel version of Murphy’s Law that states “Anything that can be delayed, will be delayed” always rings true.
4. Boredom
Thanksgiving break is mercifully short, but that doesn’t mean the looming specter of boredom cannot strike at any moment. No matter how many plans you make, you always end up with a yawning chasm of free time. By the third day of sitting in your pajamas ‘til dinnertime watching Netflix, you’ll be itching to get back to BU even if that means confronting the mountain of projects and exams waiting to greet your return.