Recommended for you

My 7 Favorite Things About Thanksgiving

Food, Football, and Family

Nov 21, 2016

Thanksgiving is this week, and it marks the beginning of my favorite time of year. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and winter is my favorite season. The week of Thanksgiving is great for many reasons (Black Friday isn't one of them), but the food, football, time with family and friends - I love it all. In honor of the upcoming holiday, I decided to share my favorite things about Thanksgiving with all of you.

1. Cranberry Sauce

A lot of people hate cranberry sauce, but I am not one of them. I love cranberry in general, so I am a huge cranberry sauce fan. (I even eat the gelatinous stuff that comes out of the can in one glob.) Cranberry is one of my favorite things about this holiday.

2. Pumpkin Pie

I love all things pumpkin also, but pumpkin pie is one of those things taking me back to my childhood. I like the flavor, but I think the memories associated with this pie is why I love it so much. Pumpkin pie just reminds me of home and simpler times. A creamy pumpkin pie with spices, a flaky crust, and a big dollop of whipped cream is just so comforting.

3. Green Bean Casserole

Everyone says their mom or their grandma makes the best this or that. However, my mom does make the best green bean casserole, and I don't care what else you say about it because my cousin's wife thinks so, too. (She starts reminding my mom in August she has to make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas.) All in all, I love everything about green bean casserole. It's creamy, savory, and topped with so many French fried onions.

4. Spending Time with Family and Friends

This is a photo of my NeeNee (grandmother) cutting a tag off of my little cousin Brylee's shirt. (I think this was Christmas, but we are really bad at getting everyone in the same picture, so this is the best I could do.) Still, the sentiment remains. I love spending time with everyone. We all live in different cities or states, and it is rare for us all to be in the same place at the same time. So at least once a year, we all gather at NeeNee's house and catch up.

Brylee love's playing hide-and-go-seek with Uncle Joel and Aunt Suzi (my mom and her husband). I love picking on my cousins like when we were kids, and they pick on me right back. I love waking up to the smell of coffee and breakfast cooking from NeeNee's kitchen. I love the safe and loved feeling I get when I'm surrounded by my family, and I am sure a lot of you feel the same way going home for Thanksgiving.

5. Going Home

I live about 2.5 hours away from my hometown (which doesn't really sound that far but getting home is often harder than it sounds). I graduated high school from Norman High School here in Norman, OK, and I spent a few years before that in Adrian, MI, but Hartshorne will always be home. It is where I spent my childhood, and my mother's side of the family lived in Hartshorne since before Oklahoma was a state.

I spent most of my elementary school career in Hartshorne, and I spent every summer during the time I lived in Michigan back in Hartshorne with my NeeNee. Thanksgiving is just an excuse to go home, breathe in the small town air, and get away from the faster pace of the bigger city.

6. Driving Home for the Holidays

This is a picture of a little mountain behind my family's property called Round Top. I know liking the drive to Hartshorne might sound silly, but Hartshorne is located in Southeastern Oklahoma, and it is a much prettier area of the state than the flat, brown plains surrounding Norman. I actually enjoy the drive because the route I take is quiet and serene, and the scenery is beautiful. It is a good escape.

7. Seeing my Mom

I know I listed spending time with family earlier, but Mom is different. My mom lives in Kentucky these days, so I only get to see her a couple times a year. My mom and I used to be inseparable, and we still are for the most part, but the distance makes it difficult. My mom is my best friend, my protector, my confidant, and the most important person in my life. Her move was hard to handle, but this year, unlike last year, I get to spend Thanksgiving with her again, and I am excited.

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Student Life

Things I Am Actually Going To Do This Semester

Or at least try to do.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

157

CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less

new year

Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

Southwestern University

909

woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch

Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less

library

Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

Michigan State University

677

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

University of Vermont

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less

finals

Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

Kennesaw State University

1373

group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.