What Thanksgiving Means to Our Writers
Our staff shares their thoughts on Thanksgiving.
Brogan Bennett (Computer Science, 2024)
For me Thanksgiving is about food, family, and friends. Growing up my brother, my uncles and I would all play backyard football growing up. Now that I have moved from the kids tables to the adult tables I find myself missing Thanksgiving as a kid. However, I do have a fun tradition where I play golf every year on Thanksgiving with my friends. We have played in the snow, rain, and sun. This might be my favorite Thanksgiving tradition now that I don’t play backyard football with my uncles.
Anna Bonney (Psychology, 2024)
What Thanksgiving means to you: Maybe it’s just me, but Thanksgiving is less of a holiday to me than I think it should be. Instead, it’s a framed picture of my family sitting around two tables put end-to-end to fit all of us. It’s making six pies and watching the last two being eaten over the next two days. It’s a lot of odd memories thrown together, sketched and colored in a childlike way, to remind me how much I adore the people around the table. And it’s the odd silence that doesn’t feel uncomfortable when we’re quietly taking turns saying what we’re grateful for. That’s Thanksgiving for me.
Faith Bowen (Business, 2027)
I wish that I could give you an answer that is unique and unheard of, but I love Thanksgiving for the same reason everyone else loves Thanksgiving. Stuffing your face with incredible food is an amazing thing. That being said, there is simply no better feeling than gratitude and being surrounded by the people you love.
Jimbo Brown (Business, 2025)
Thanksgiving is all about the turkey bowl, as good as the food is it just weighs you down for black friday shopping. Spending time with family is great and all but the card games and trash talk is where the goodness lies. And lastly ham is superior to turkey and you can’t tell me otherwise.
Sydney Crandall (English, 2027)
Growing up I had always heard to remember that Thanksgiving isn’t about the food. It is instead focused on family and gratitude. And while I agree with that statement, to me there isn’t able to be the same focus on family and gratitude without the traditions and gathering that comes through the food aspect of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to me is spreading cool whip and kneading rolls with my grandmother, aunt, mother, and sister in the kitchen while my dad and brothers break the bread for the stuffing while watching the Turkey Bowl. And Thanksgiving is a full table of food prepared with the best intentions and fullest amount of love imaginable. Each dish is prepared with thought beforehand, careful preparation, consideration of each person’s preferences remembered by someone who cares enough to, and countless hours spent actually cooking and cleaning after. In the way that it brings the people I love together, Thanksgiving to me is all about the food.
Rico Diego (Business, 2024)
Thanksgiving was always an interesting time of year because my mother’s birthday always coincided with Thanksgiving. It was never really a thanksgiving celebration as it was a birthday party for my mom. Family would come over, we would prepare the food, and celebrate my mom’s birthday. As a child, I wanted the stereotypical thanksgiving dinner but since my parents grew up in Mexico we ended up having Mexican dishes which made it very unique and memorable.
Daniel Lawhorne (History, 2023)
The majority of my family has always lived in or near Buena Vista, so it’s always been pretty easy to get everyone together on Thanksgiving, which is something I’ve always been grateful for. My aunt Beth’s crock pot macaroni and cheese has always been the food that I most look forward to. There is also, of course, the time-honored tradition of carb crashing when I get home.
Brock Nye (Business, 2024)
Thanksgiving to me is a time for family and friends to gather and bond over good food and football. To me thanksgiving is not thanksgiving without other people. It’s a great time to be able to see what actually is important in life and all that you have been given. The best thanksgivings that I have had are the ones where the focus is less on the stress of making food or cleaning the house before guests come, and more on the actually family and friends that gather.
Sierra Nye
Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart as a time of reflection, gratitude, and connection. It transcends the mere act of sharing a delicious meal; it’s a cherished moment to express appreciation for the blessings in my life, both big and small. Whether surrounded by family or friends, the holiday becomes a time with laughter, warmth, and the joy of shared memories. It serves as a reminder to pause, acknowledge the abundance in my life, and foster a sense of gratitude that extends beyond the holiday season.
Caleb Palmer (English, 2026)
Thanksgiving is a special time for my family. Thanksgiving day looks similar every year, gathering all in the morning and helping in the kitchen. As the day progresses we all play games and watch and play football. When we sit down for dinner we share thoughts of gratitude and say a prayer as a family. After dinner is over, we all help in the kitchen again and wait for extended family to come over so we can play more games and spend time with each other. It has been an incredible way to start the holiday season each year.
Kinsley Rapier (Psychology and Business, 2025)
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I think of the memories that I have from this holiday, I think of warmth and laughter. The food is always great but the family bonding was better. Coming from a big family, Thanksgiving was the only time that we could get everyone together and catch up on the past year. Some of my favorite memories were when my siblings and I would stay up until two in the morning playing cards and talking. It is a special time of year that I will always cherish.
Jacob Seawright (Business, 2025)
Thanksgiving has different meanings to everything, from different cultures or Just different traditions that your family has. To me Thanksgiving is a time to gather together as a family, a time where you can see family members that you don’t see too often. A time where you can share stories, watch football, and eat a ton of food, and not worry about anything else but that moment.
Curtis Stone
For me Thanksgiving is always about the food and the family. Every year my family spends the morning together making food and listening to some Christmas music, and putting up our tree. I know I know some of you won’t agree with that decision to introduce Christmas before Thanksgiving is even over but hey it’s our tradition. Plus there is no Thanksgiving music out there. For our actual Thanksgiving meal however we head over to our grandparents house with all the aunts and uncles and cousins for some good turkey, mashed potatoes, and more types of pies than you even knew existed.
