The countdown has finally come to an end - for most of us, our trains, planes and automobiles will be rolling out of AU within the next few hours, bound for home.
While it's great to head back home for a few days, catch up with friends and family and, most importantly, eat some real food, issues we once left behind when we came to college could start to pop up again.
When I was in high school, my sister and I did not have a good relationship. We were constantly competing with each other, frustrated by each other's accomplishments and beating ourselves up when we didn't do something first. Going away to college was refreshing because it gave us time to be ourselves. Although my sister and I now have a great relationship, it's hard not to compare myself to her when I go home. She gets straight A's, runs on varsity track and is the president of her student council. I feel like I can barely finish my homework, let alone get straight A's. Sure, it might just be jealousy, but it doesn't make it any easier.
I think we all fear our families won't think we're good enough. Whenever I try to explain my major in a way that will make it sound like I'll actually be making a living, my grandparents look at me funny until I give up and say I want to be a writer. Then someone will say, "You're not going to be writing for The New York Times right out of college."
You never know. The point is that we want our families to think we're great. More specifically, we want our families to think we're better than other people, even if that means other people in our families.
Feeling competition with your family is really not uncommon: 90 percent of siblings say they feel some sort of competition with their other siblings, according to ParentingTeens.com. And get this: 35 percent of parents say they're actually jealous of their own kids.
But I know that going home will be fun, and it will be a chance to remember what life was like when I actually went to bed before 3 a.m. And obviously seeing my family is on that list somewhere.
Another thing that usually comes up around the holidays is the fact that my family becomes obsessed with their weight.
After going to school with people who obsess about how fattening the Tavern is and how much weight they've gained since the beginning of the semester, the last thing I need is to go home and hear my grandmother do the same thing. I would hope that by the time I'm 75, I'll be saying, "Who cares, I'm going to eat whatever I want." But just like everyone else, my grandmother is self-conscious. Every year I watch her pull the skin off the turkey and complain about the 30 pounds she just gained with a frustrated sigh.
Then my aunt will start. After having a baby a few years ago, my aunt has become neurotic about getting back down to her high school weight and will tell me all about her diet.
Of course, my family and I do have other conversations at Thanksgiving. In fact, my family is engaging, and I love spending time with them. But Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving anywhere you go, and relatives seem to be a little more annoying, which is partly to blame on the martinis and after-dinner drinks they've consumed.
Just remember that while it may be tempting to compare yourself to your sibling or worry about all of your work on the elliptical going to waste, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful that you have so many great things in your life. Don't let those other things stand in the way of what's really important to you.
