Over Thanksgiving Break, senior Selena Schulz traveled to New York to visit with family. As more than half her family lives up north, she said this was “…a very important time to see each other, catch up on life and spend time enjoying the company.” Selena mentioned that in the past, her immediate family of four has driven the nearly twenty-hour trek and it was “a hot mess.” Selena elaborates, “It’s hard to be cramped in a car that long, even with breaks. I adore airports anyways; I couldn’t be more thrilled that we chose to fly this time.”
Selena has a younger sister, Audrey who is five years old and enjoys the flight just as much as her big sister. To them, it represents the act of creating that distance from the chaos of everyday life. The week off serves as a break for many students, and of course, everyone chooses to spend it in a unique way. Furthermore, Selena is optimistic about the kindness of humanity that never fails to present itself around this holiday. She explains, “Gratitude is a characteristic that everyone claims to have year-round, but often I think we only embrace it during this one day every year.” It is important for her that she recognizes that, and also chooses to be more proactive about effusing thankfulness the other 364 days of the year.
Another element of Thanksgiving that she is particularly keen about is the time spent with family. As mentioned before, this portion of her relatives live quite far away. It is important not just to her, but to her parents as well that she takes the time to socialize. She says with a laugh, “They’ve even told me to put my book down and chat more. It was frustrating at first, but I understand where they are coming from.” Selena has begun to realize that gratitude isn’t just an abstract concept. Rather, she can apply it to the very week of Thanksgiving, and be thankful for the time with her family. Audrey adores the holiday as well, so Selena is beginning to teach her more about what it means. “There’s depth beyond the food,” Selena elaborates, “…and it’s important to me that Audrey recognizes that.” Ultimately, Selena says she had a wonderful time in New York and though she can’t predict the outcome of the next year, is grateful for the time Thanksgiving Day created for gratitude.
