Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays hands down. It seems to get lost in translation when people start listening to Christmas music after Halloween and decide to skip the month of November entirely.

International students and those who go to school far from home don’t always have the option to go home for the few days off from classes. That’s where freindsgivings arise and people still can feel the turkey day spirit from their dorm room.

For those students like me who have the privilege to hop on a plane, train or bus to travel home for the long weekend, Thanksgiving is much needed and well deserved.

It’s the time of the semester right after the second round of midterms and right before finals that brings a mini vacation to college students. Unless you live within an hour of home, chances are you aren’t eating home cooked meals every day. I have seen parents ship tupperwares of food for their child to eat but what is the real thrill behind lukewarm lasagna at 1 am after being in the library all night. There is really nothing like a home-cooked meal.

For most, Thanksgiving is the “excuse holiday”, giving families a reason to travel from far and wide to spend the weekend together. Most families have the head chef who takes the lead on the food every year. This is the person who plans and executes the timeline for turkey day; when to defrost said turkey, what pies to bake and how the potatoes should be prepared. That’s the thing about Thanksgiving, it’s not just a series of home-cooked meals, it’s a full-blown feast.

Thanksgiving is the day where everyone wears their loosest pair of pants, to make room for all the food they’re going to funnel into themselves. It’s the day to eat your body weight in food and not feel bad about it.

It’s also the day where, in being a college student, your relatives ask you repetitive questions about your major, career track and love life. This can be easily avoided by constantly having a full mouth, equaling the inability to answer these eye-twitch inducing questions. So no Grandma, I am not engaged yet.

As a college student, I miss my parents’ cooking and coming to the dinner table every night to sit down and share a meal with my family. Something about a bowl of Cheerios for dinner by myself in my dorm room is lackluster compared to a skirt steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus prepared by my parents.

It’s not only exciting to go home for a break after being railed by exams but to enjoy the time spent with the family and friends back home while you’re away. Thanksgiving is the best, not to mention the leftovers you get to package up and take back to school with you to last until winter break comes around.