After eating turkey and dressing with your family and watching Granny cut that pumpkin pie approximately 18 times, spending Thanksgiving away from home once you get to college can be tough… especially the first year.
I was unable to go home my first two years of being away, so here are some tips on how to optimize staying on campus, some downsides, and some reasons why it may not be so bad.
- You’re going to miss your family (maybe)
If you’re like me, you love family, so of course, you’re gonna miss them after being with them for so many years during the holiday season. Call home!! Calling my family just to check in helped me with the homesickness of not being able to go home sick. However, you may be that independent spirit that doesn’t mind living independently.
2. “There’s food in the fridge.”
Some people (especially parents) loooove eating Thanksgiving leftovers until Christmas, but if you’re like me, you DON’T. An upside to staying on campus for Thanksgiving is not watching your mom pull the Tupperware out of the fridge every time you mention hunger. Although innovative ways to eat leftovers have surfaced, (Thanksgiving pizza, Turkey Day stuffed sandwiches) I’m still not here for the food déjà vu.
3. Spending Thanksgiving on campus, you can eat what you want.
If you are graced with a dorm with a kitchen or know someone who is, you can cook your own meal. And this meal can be whatever you want! Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you have to eat turkey and yams, you could eat spaghetti and garlic bread or candy and ice cream if you really wanted to.
4. You can catch up on schoolwork
Most professors cancel classes the week of Thanksgiving break, so that extra week of not traveling home and being distracted by holiday festivities can really help you relax, catch up on your sleep and schoolwork, and help finish the semester strong.
5. Don’t forget to STILL GIVE THANKS
Yeah, sure, you may be far away from family and all of your friends are going home and that could suck. But, never forget what Thanksgiving is for. Reach out and see if you have family in the state you go to school if a friend invites you home go for it! But, if you are stuck in a dorm eating Ramen, don’t sweat it, you still have so much to be thankful for. Making a list of what you have to give thanks for will help, especially if you’re feeling down.
If you’re staying on campus this year, don’t fret, it’s not the end of the world. Just make the best of it, finish the semester out strong, and Happy Thanksgiving!