Because I was so used to having a whole week for Thanksgiving break, I was genuinely concerned about how I would fit in homework, family time, and Black Friday shopping. Gladly, everything worked out this Thanksgiving weekend, and I could not be more grateful.
           I had such an adventure in getting home from La Verne. Since everyone is going home for the long weekend, freeways were overflowing with traffic and it took a good two hours to go home even though the drive was only fifty miles long. I was excited to finally be home because I genuinely missed my family, having not seen them for almost three weeks. I missed the Filipino food, the familiarity of my town, and the comfort of my home. I was glad to be able to share all of this with my cousin, whom I brought home to spend the weekend.
           We arrived home Wednesday night, and went straight to my church’s Thanksgiving Eve service. After the message, my family and I went home and enjoyed a beef stew dinner. We signed up to volunteer for the Thanksgiving outreach event the next day, and we helped our church serve the homeless. My job was to greet everyone who came, to watch over the church kids while their parents were helping out, and to help clean up after the event. I felt so humbled by the work we’ve done for our community and seeing how much these people struggle in their daily lives. Seeing the happy look on their faces as they get to have a full meal and to take some clothes and hygiene kits made me feel like I underappreciate all the blessings I’ve been given. I would gladly volunteer if my church hosted more outreach events like these for the community.
           After a long day’s work, we headed back home to prepare our Thanksgiving feast. Because I was raised in a traditional Filipino home, we didn’t have your basic turkey and mashed potatoes—instead we had sweet pineapple ham, fried chicken, and pancit (rice noodles with vegetables and meat). There was also a multitude of native Filipino rice cake and purple yam desserts, which I ate the most of. My cousin was so happy to have so much Filipino food because he hasn’t eaten it since he’s left Washington to attend Azusa Pacific University here in California.
           Now I promised myself that I wouldn’t go Black Friday shopping, but I just had to show my cousin around the biggest mall in the South Bay area. Granted, there were huge amounts of car traffic and people traffic at Del Amo mall, but the deals were definitely worth it. Although my wallet is probably weeping at my life choices, everything I bought was $10 or less (but I don’t think that’s enough to offset the fact that I am now definitely more broke than I was before). Yes, I can definitely blame my cousin for my purchases…
           Everyone knows that the day after Thanksgiving is basically Christmas season! We bought a fresh tree from Lowe’s, and now the whole house smells like Christmas! The next thing on our to-do list is to decorate the tree and the house, which is a perfect activity on a rainy day (the weather app forecasts rain for the next two days). Â
           Spending Thanksgiving with my family was significantly more special this year than most. The fact that I live away from home makes me cherish the time I spend with my family even more: eating homemade food, bonding with my sister, and (momentarily) giving up the responsibilities of being a college student.