Finally made it to the first scheduled break

Well, it’s finally Thanksgiving break.  

Two days of bliss is all we get off from school. For the lucky among us, some teachers canceled classes on Wednesday, allowing students to travel home. What I think is interesting is that this is the first break the University scheduled since we started school in the first week of September. Other schools get fall break, but we don’t because school starts later, after Labor Day and after the state fair is done. It’s okay though, most of us survive the treacherous stretch from September to the end of November, through midterms and projects and finals prep. 

Lately, school hasn’t been that difficult for me. My classes are fairly reasonable, with few or no homework assignments, and only final projects to work on. Working at the Minnesota Daily has been keeping me busy lately though, with important stories and interviews to do and such. One of my stories had seven sources: We usually have about three sources for each story. But now we get a little break to relax for a couple of days, so that’s exciting, I guess. 

Thanksgiving, I believe, does not get the attention it deserves. Some people seem to transition straight from Halloween into Christmas, skipping right over Thanksgiving. But this is where all the good food is. Turkey, stuffing, my favorite Captain Morgan sweet potatoes, green bean casserole. So much delicious food. 

My family likes to run the turkey trot, a 5K, every Thanksgiving we can, which is unfortunate as I do not appreciate running as much as other people do. I just was not built for it and I don’t have the mental patience to train myself to like it and go through the run. I once read, though, that some writers have picked up running as a distraction from writing. Like, writing is demanding, but running is demanding in another way. By “torturing” themselves on the trail, they can go back and enjoy writing more. I thought it was funny. 

Hopefully the 5K ends quickly and I can go home and relax knowing I did my exercise for the day. Then I can eat Captain Morgan sweet potatoes scooped up by delicious King Hawaiian buns. Mmmm. I wonder how different the traditions are among the many different households celebrating the holiday. Does it also differ in the midwest since we have a very family centered focus and also have casseroles? I don’t know, but I’m quite satisfied with what I have, thank you very much. 

My Determination: “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring