Tag Archives: Thanksgiving break

From a Thankful Senior

Posted on
by

Thanksgiving is a reflective time; the word “thanks” is in the title. Although the history of Thanksgiving is more complicated than that presented to us in grade school, the modern connotation of the event is all about spending time with family and taking stock of the good stuff (yes, that absolutely includes perfectly whipped mashed potatoes holding a beautiful crater of overflowing gravy). I have a lot of things to be thankful for myself, so I decided it would be a good time to share some of these things.

  1. My Oswego education. I’ll be graduating on December 15th in front of my family. Image result for graduation gif
  2. My newest family member: my nephew Grant.
  3. A delicious meal and the opportunity to eat it with loved ones. Image result for thanksgiving gif
  4. My caring, creative, crazy friends that I’ve made both at Oz and in life in general. Image result for friends thanksgiving gif (a “Friends” Thanksgiving gif is almost obligatory, no?)
  5. The social media team. I’ve been doing this since my sophomore year which means it’s been 2 and a half years of photographing geese, dogs, hockey players, and filming and writing about my personal adventures. Image result for social media gif

With graduation coming up in a few weeks, I’m currently trying to polish my resume, finish five different papers and projects, apply to jobs, and balance a few other spinning plates as well. This break and this particular holiday have been very important for me, not only to have a bit of extra time to work on these things, but to also remember what I have going for me. I’m very thankful for my time in Oswego in general. I have changed and grown so much and feel as though I’ve truly come into my own. I’ve met amazing people and learned so many things, both in and out of the classroom. As I enter the most confusing and transitional period of my life yet, remembering this and trying to use it to my advantage will be more important than ever.

I’d like to thank my boss Tim Nekritz for putting me on the social media team and giving me a platform to create content of my choice for the school. I also want to thank everyone reading this and everyone who has ever read one of my blogs, watched one of my vlogs, viewed my Snapchats, and looked at my Instagram posts for Oz. I hope that I have been educational, entertaining, or at the very least distracting (in a good way!). Take it from one very thankful Laker: take the time to think about the good in your life. You might be happier than you’ve ever been, you might be going through hard times or transitioning into something new; no matter what, if you think hard enough there will be something to be thankful for. Now enjoy the dinner rolls.

Before your food coma…

Posted on
by

I’m sitting in my warm home with my mother realizing halfway through making pumpkin pie that she only has enough to make one pie and not two while my sister is trying to show me different things she wants to do with her Pre-K students. My sister’s fiance is in the garage fixing his truck. My dad is out working in the cold; unfortunately, he doesn’t get today off.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and as I’m writing this, I don’t need to think hard about what I’m thankful for. I have a home and people who love me. I have fantastic friends, and I’m fortunate enough that I have the ability to pursue a college education. I’m lucky that I had Friendsgiving on Sunday and Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow.

As much as I’m happy and grateful for everything in my life, I don’t want this post to be a laundry list. Instead, I would like to ask that anybody reading this remember what they are thankful for and make sure to spread extra love and kindness this holiday season, whether that is at the dinner table or in life in general. Don’t let Aunt Sue’s political opinions or Grandpa Jerry’s food complaints get you down. Love is what is important. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom's not impressed with this pie. She's having an off-day for pie making

Mom’s not impressed with this pie. She’s having an off-day for pie making.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Posted on
by

I just got back from Thanksgiving break, and as cliche as it sounds, I must say that I wish break hadn’t flown by so fast. I’ve loved being at school and taking more steps to get me closer to the career I want, but sometimes I just really miss my family. I haven’t been home for more than three weeks all year, so I was grateful that I was able to spend time with a lot of family members over break.

However, I didn’t head straight home for break. Instead, I traveled through Boston, all the way up to Manchester, N.H. My mother’s entire side of the family, all of whom I’m really close with, live around Manchester and I always make a point to visit at least once a year. Thanksgiving break was my time to visit this year. I stayed at my Aunt Sue and Uncle Dave’s house throughout the week, but was lucky enough to see every family member.

Tuesday was just a day of traveling, so I didn’t do much more than hang out around the house. My friend, Kait, was awesome enough to offer me a ride from Oswego to Worcester, which is right outside of Boston. Then her parents became even more amazing and offered to drive me the whole way to Manchester so that I wouldn’t have to take a bus.

Wednesday became the special day between my Aunt Sue and I. Nicknamed her “special girl,” we hit the mall for some shopping, grabbed lunch and margaritas at Shorty’s, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, and went to the movies to see Love and Other Drugs. In case you were wondering, it’s a must-see movie.

I also had breakfast with my Grammy and caught up with my old friend, Nick, after the movie at Applebee’s. I’ve known him since we were little kids, but we often only see each other once a year and talk the rest of the time via Facebook or text messaging, so it was nice to catch up in person again.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! My uncles, aunts, baby cousin Devyn, Grammy and I went to Hart’s Turkey Farm, a restaurant famous for their turkey dinners. It was delicious! I followed my Surviving Thanksgiving Dinner guidelines too and ate rather healthy. Unfortunately, my family then surprised me with a birthday cake (apparently my birthday is a week-long celebration), which totally de-railed any healthy eating habits I had going. Not to mention I wasn’t expecting it at all, so my face turned about 10 shades of red.

I spent Friday with my cousin Joclyn, who shares a special bond with me because she’s exactly 10 years younger than me (Well, her birthday is the day before mine, but it’s close enough). I bought her a “Fight Like A Girl” T-shirt that Colleges Against Cancer was selling this year to benefit the American Cancer Society, and we both had black boots, so she loved the fact that we could dress up as twins for a day.

I headed over to my Aunt Carol’s on Saturday, where I got to have a second round of Thanksgiving dinner with her, her boyfriend Jim, my mom, step-dad, and my little brother, Scott. Once again, I followed my Survive Thanksgiving Dinner tips and ate a delicious yet healthy meal!

We also had family game night, and the girls kicked butt in Catchphrase for three rounds. I also won a round of Apples to Apples, but my Aunt Carol and Jim were able to claim a round, too. Scott put up a valiant effort each time, but was unable to clinch a title like he usually does.

I spent all of  Sunday traveling on a bus, which wasn’t fun because my phone decided to call it quits about two minutes after I boarded. Fortunately, I had my boyfriend’s phone number memorized and was able to get to a pay phone so he could pick me up safe and sound. And when I got back to Oswego, the view was definitely worth it.

How was your Thanksgiving break? Did you experience any memorable moments?