The Thanksgiving Takeover

Alright boys, here's the game plan: Sleep for 12 hours a day, start on the turkey, move on to stuffing and mashed potatoes last, always save room for that pie. When the next morning hits, down those leftovers like no tomorrow - don't forget to finish that pie.

Photo originally from here

Thanksgiving has become a holiday focused on food and Black Friday sales. It gets little enough recognition due to Halloween and Christmas overtaking it in the market as they're both much more profitable holidays than Thanksgiving. The best way to advertise Thanksgiving seems to be slapping a turkey on the window and calling it a day. People seem to forget the reason why we have this holiday - to give thanks, thanks-giving.

The food and the time off is great, but Thanksgiving is time to appreciate and be thankful everything we have and the people around us. Food has always been the best way to share time together with family and friends. It doesn't matter if you have turkey, pie, or what have you, as long as you're with people you love and care about.

I know a lot of people on campus have been homesick and dying to go back to their families, myself included. So I decided to post about this to remind everyone to be thankful and happy for what they have, and remember that they've come this far in life with help and support. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving/Fall break!

Now... where's that turkey...

Life is a Blur, Learn to Freeze time

Everyone's pretty aware of the incredible marketing strategies stores seem to make around holiday season - discounting candy a month before Halloween, selling Christmas things before Thanksgiving. Everything is sold way too early and once one holiday is over with, the new merchandise is ushered out as if on cue. As it is now November, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming around the corner, and I've realized our need to rush things doesn't just apply to holidays and vacations, but the seasons in general. We can never seem to wait for the next one to come around, yet when it does we don't appreciate it and look forward to the one after that.

The thought came to mind while I was walking to go out for dinner with my roommate one night. I noticed how clear the sky was, how bright the moon was, how crisp the air was. It was a perfect Autumn evening. While the other students were rushing back to their dorms with hands shoved in pockets and arms pulled in close, I was embracing the cold, fingers outstretched and feeling the cold air, breathing it in. People suffered while I was having a great time, and I wondered why.

I always hear people complain about the current season and wished the next one would come. "I can't wait for winter to come, it's too cloudy and rainy right now... I can't wait for spring, it's way too cold...I can't wait for summer, I need a vacation... I can't wait for fall, summer's too hot..." When the season starts, it's all well and good, but half a month in, people want change. We're always changing, going fast and rushing through life, skipping weekdays for weekends, work for vacations, something for something else, then back again. We flip-flop so much and we're never satisfied. I suppose it's just the way our culture nowadays is. Life feels shorter as we get older and we want to have mundane things over with. We get bored easily and we need something new to spice up our lives. 

If only people slowed down and made smaller moments worth while, maybe we'd be more satisfied with life. A lot of our experiences come from our senses - we should learn to use them more. Each season has a smell, a feeling, a taste. Every day is different. Being able to take in everything in your surroundings gives a refreshing sensation of living in the moment, existing in the now. Next time you go outside, try standing still and absorbing everything around you. No day is the same and you can only live them once, so might as well make it a good experience.