Thoughts from Places: Dewick

The dining halls celebrated Thanksgiving a week before the rest of the country — a welcome surprise on a cold and rainy Thursday night. The hustle and bustle of a crowded cafeteria contrasts sharply with the nearly silent gathering back home. My small family celebration never quite evokes the same feelings of warmth and appreciation as the one here does. Somehow, the significantly less textbook, slightly too early ordeal at Dewick felt even more picturesque and memorable than the 17 other attempts at Thanksgiving I have witnessed.

The internet seems convinced that gathering a group of friends together for a meal involving turkey, gravy and all sorts of pies should be deemed “Friendsgiving,” and by that metric, that is exactly what this meal was. It is not inconceivable that this particular gathering was more entertaining that the one to take place a week later. It was blessed with all of the delicious foods (apparently the dining halls can make good food, they just choose not to), and none of the marinate-all-night, cook-all-day hassles. There were no frustrated mothers begging for help in the kitchen or grandmothers squabbling over whose apple pie has the right amount of cinnamon. No induced faithless prayers were sent up before the ceremonious digging-in. Awkward discussions were entirely avoidable, and the topic of Donald Trump only came up to satisfy the need for an echo chamber and not a debate stage.

There were no awkward, drunk aunts, and no little kids cajoling their parents for a fourteenth slice of pie. At Tufts, any lulls in conversation were quickly avoided or otherwise ameliorated by the sheer presence of people who know you in a more real sense than even your family does. Perhaps it’s called Friendsgiving because it serves as a reminder for what many of us forget to fully appreciate sometimes — our friends.

Literally nobody besides myself from the last four graduating classes of my high school has opted to come to Tufts, leaving me with a blank slate and no friends. Initially, the prospect was exciting; getting to reinvent both myself and my inventory of sidekicks could be life changing. Three short months later, I have found myself subject to the cheesy cultural phenomenon of both missing my old friends and surrounding myself with new ones (not just those from orientation, but perhaps still limiting myself to those individuals from my dorm). Taking time away from chemistry textbooks and psychology studies three-fourths of the way into the semester to appreciate the forgotten aspects of social engagement was a pleasant way to spend a Thursday night.

Although the dread of an awkward Thanksgiving dinner at home confounds my excitement to revisit a place that is still deemed “home,” (and my dogs), I know that there are several reasons to be thankful. Apart from the delicious meal at Dewick, my ability to access a beautiful campus and recieve a world-class education surrounded by many of those dearest to my heart truly gives me plenty to appreciate.