Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It has been for a while, but especially since I’ve come to college. It comes as a shining beacon of rest and rejuvenation in the middle of the dark ages that take over after the Daylight Savings Time clock switch and at the final weeks of the semester. There’s a ton to be grateful for — personally, I’m thankful for the chance to go home and spend time with my friends and family, eat some good food, and listen to my male relatives yell at the TV over NFL games. Those are some pretty stereotypical things to be grateful for, I know, but I’m also working on being thankful for something a little different this year: myself.
It sounds bad when I say it plainly like that, but hear me out. This semester (and, honestly, this whole year) has been hectic beyond belief and I think we all deserve to give ourselves some credit for making it this far. Whether it’s your first semester or our last, you’ve achieved a lot if you’re still here. We all deserve to be proud of ourselves for our accomplishments.
I know it’s not over yet. We still have to push through a few more weeks to get to the holiday lights at the end of the tunnel, but we’ve made it this far, and that’s enough. This Thanksgiving, take the time to appreciate yourself and your hard work and the fact that you’re still standing. Try as it may, 2023 couldn’t take us down. Be kind to yourself, enjoy the (best) holiday, and come back from break ready to crush the last few weeks of classes and finals. Happy Thanksgiving everyone 🙂
