Thanksgiving break has always been a favorite of mine, even though I’m not a fan of turkey. My love of Thanksgiving is far removed from its original meaning and more about how we celebrate it. Similar to New Year’s or the 4th of July, the majority of children and adults in the US are given time off from work/school because of Thanksgiving, often for an entire week. This common practice gives people time for traveling throughout the break. For example, my immediate family and I live in a different state than the rest of my extended family. We live in Georgia while my maternal extended family is located in Chicago, Illinois, and my paternal extended family is located in various parts of northern and central Florida. Because I get to see my maternal family many times throughout the year, my siblings and I enjoy driving down to Florida once a year to visit my paternal family for Thanksgiving.

Variety at Dinner

I always have such a fun vacation during Thanksgiving break. I have a lot of family members who live in Florida and who drop by sometime during Thanksgiving week. It’s so interesting to catch up with so many different people while listening to music or eating food. Every family that comes chips in a portion of the big dinner Thanksgiving night, with my host cooking the majority of the dishes served. With so many people at the dinner, guests don't typically eat together at one big table. Instead, people are encouraged to eat in the living room, in the backyard, or even on tables set up in the garage and driveway. Music and laughter are everywhere, and the dinner lasts for hours.

The Fall Break

Though I have many personal reasons to enjoy Thanksgiving break, a more common positive about the holiday is when it happens. For college students, the fall semester can be tough. You have to get back to the mindset of school and the weather gets colder and colder. Besides Labor Day weekend, most colleges don’t have a significant break until later November with Thanksgiving. During my first year of college, I would often find myself counting down the days until Thanksgiving as a break from the months of learning I was getting used to. Even if you don’t travel for Thanksgiving, or celebrate the holiday in any way, any student can appreciate the much-needed fall vacation that is Thanksgiving break.

If you were to ask me what my favorite holiday was, I would likely respond with Christmas. However, if you were to ask me what holiday I look forward to the most, my answer would have to be Thanksgiving. I don’t have many attachments to the historical origin of the holiday, but I spend the majority of the fall semester looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my family.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started!