The thing about going to a university more than 1400 miles away from home is that you don't really get the chance to go home for Thanksgiving. So you spend the long weekend with friends at their homes. This year is no different. I'm with my brother, his girlfriend, and a few of their friends at one of their homes in Boise, Idaho. (Yep, I'm back in Boise.) Last year, I was with my brother, his girlfriend, and his best friend in Rexburg, and we had dinner w/ the family of one of my brother's favorite mission companions. The year before, I stayed with the always wonderful Sara Soft Hands and her family.
One of my friends was asking me the other day about spending Thanksgiving with random families that weren't my own. Simply put, he thought it was weird. It's not exactly ideal but it isn't that bad, either. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it. To me, it's just great being in a real house for Thanksgiving. My apartment is pretty nice and it does feel like home, but there's something special about being in an actual house during the holiday season, even if it's not my own. (Maybe it has something to do with the grand televisions families have that students can only dream of affording.)
It's interesting how you create families out of friends at college. To a degree, everyone does it, but it is definitely an art perfected by those of us who do not have family within the state or in any surrounding states. We learn not to care that we can't have Sunday dinner with our real families; we have our own dinners. We experience the joys of packages containing food instead of just stealing it from our parent's cupboards. We know how important it is to find those around us who can become our family. If something big or important happens, whether good or bad, we know we can depend on those friends just as much as we could on our own families.
So to finish off this Thanksgiving post, here's a few things I'm thankful for specific to my collegiate life:
- Wonderful and hilarious roommates. I live with three amazing people who can always brighten my day and my life.
- Great friends from freshman year. Whenever I see people on campus from my first year, I cannot help but smile. So many of us from my group still keep in touch and hang out pretty regularly. They helped shape that year into something incredible and I won't ever forget them.
- Comfortable couches in my apartment.
- Netflix. Thanks to my fantastic friend from home, Megan, I have access to some great TV shows and every now and then a few good flicks. So much entertainment has come from being able to use Netflix.
- Classes that start after 10 am. This semester, the majority of my classes were later than noon. Twice a week I have a religion class at 9, but it's so worth it.
- A beautiful campus full of (generally) kind and courteous people. BYU is a great atmosphere. Even though I don't like Utah too much as a whole, I am quite fond of BYU.
- New friends. The people in my ward this year are incredible. I love being around them and just talking. One new friend in particular is quite lovely.
I hope you all have a great long weekend. Enjoy your pie!
Last YouTube video I watched: Internet Love Story: CTFxC Wedding (I've actually watched this video at least once a day since it was posted.)
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