With dropping temperatures and falling leaves, University High School fills with the excitement of the highly anticipated week-long Thanksgiving break. UHS students celebrate this holiday of love through family- and friend-centered traditions and enjoy their ten days of stress-free fun with their friends and family. People nationwide celebrate through hosting traditional dinners and Friendsgiving, attending turkey trots and more.
“My family’s tradition for Thanksgiving is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in Christmas pajamas every morning before visiting our family in San Diego for Thanksgiving,” junior Kioni Niebla said. “We´ve been doing this for as long as I can remember. It´s just me and my parents, so we’re a pretty tight-knit household, so we like to do homey things like that.’’
Niebla, like many others, sees Thanksgiving break as a time to acknowledge the time she has with her family without the added stress she usually feels with school and other extracurriculars. She sees it as a way to spend quality time on a day steeped in the values of appreciating your loved ones.
“It’s special to me because of how long we have been doing this,” Niebla said. “I don’t remember a time when we didn’t watch the parade. Since we’re all so busy with our own things [usually], it’s nice to settle down and spend time together during the holidays.”
With the newly introduced week-long break, it is more realistic for families to travel, since the previously three-day break would most likely cut trips short. For junior Lily Bogaards, Thanksgiving has given her the opportunity to see her family, whom she has moved away from.
“During Thanksgiving break, my father and I go back up to Washington to spend Thanksgiving with our entire family, and we have a massive dinner where everybody brings a dish,” Bogaards said. “We’ve gone back to Washington every year since we moved to California to stay connected to our family, even though we are so far away.”
UHS’ academic culture often leaves little time for quality time with loved ones between extracurriculars, homework and after-school sports or jobs students participate in. Thanksgiving break is the perfect time for students to relax and reconnect with friends and family.
“This trip is special to me because the main issue with moving to California for me was being so far away from my family after being so close with [them], especially my cousins, my entire life, so being able to spend a holiday with them as an entire family is always so special,” Bogaards said.
Thanksgiving break is a time for students to step back from academics. It is time for students to reflect on the love and appreciation they have for the people who make them feel valued and special, and to enjoy it all during a stress-free week focused on being thankful for everything they have.
