When people talk about Thanksgiving, they always talk about home, with family and close friends. Aunts and uncles and cousins are there, maybe there is some family drama happening, everyone is dressed up, and someone is taking family photos. While this is the Thanksgiving dinner that I usually attend, this year I will be staying on campus. I live in San Francisco, and buying a plane ticket from Chicago to California over Thanksgiving weekend is very expensive and it is too close to our winter break to justify the purchase. The flight is also pretty long and I will be going home in December anyways.
Instead of going home to the Bay and having a traditional Thanksgiving, I am going to stay in a dorm on campus with one of my best friends. We are going to stay in our pajamas, do face masks, and binge-watch TV. I think I am going to go to one of my friend’s houses in Chicago to have Thanksgiving dinner, and I want to go into the city for Black Friday. If you are also staying on campus for the holiday, here are some fun ideas of things to do:
- If you have access to a kitchen or an oven, do some baking with your friends! Or just buy some turkey…no one has to know.
- Reorganize your room or do some decorating for the holidays.
- Even though this is a time for relaxation, taking the time to go through your classes and making a plan for finishing the quarter over break can get finals started off on the right note.
- Go into the city and explore! It isn’t even cold in Chicago yet! Savor this while it lasts.
- Spend more time with friends who live in the city- let them show you their favorite neighborhoods that you might not have time to explore normally.
- Take time for self-care: paint your nails, lounge around in pajamas, eat junk food, try a new workout- whatever makes you feel better.
- Most importantly, remember to appreciate things that you are grateful for- studies show it helps you live longer!
On a deeper level, celebrating this holiday with my college friends really makes me feel thankful. I have made so many amazing friends in the first year at this school. Being able to spend the holiday relaxing and decompressing before finals with one of my best friends is the way I would most like to spend it. Even though many of my friends sound sorry for me when I say I am staying on campus, I am so excited to have a Friendsgiving!