Thanksgiving is traditionally about gratitude, spending time with family, and potatoes in every form known to mankind; however, Seton Hall students know better.
The holiday brings loud family reunions, debates over unwanted topics, and a great amount of food. To gain a deeper understanding of the holiday, SHU students explained what goes down at their Thanksgiving festivities.
When describing the mood at the dinner table, students offered a wide range of responses.
Amelia Wysoczanski, a junior political science major, described her dinners as usually being “funny, chaotic, but argumentative at times.”
This is also common for Armando Manansala, a senior political science major, who described his dinners to be “very loud…there’s never a quiet moment.”
However, for Isabella Bonfante, a junior communications major, her dinners provide a serene contrast. The environment is usually “calm,” bringing a different perspective that Thanksgiving dinners are just as enjoyable without the stereotypical loudness.
The students also have had their fair share of conversations surrounding unwanted topics. One of these topics is politics. It is a topic that some SHU students tend to dread.
As many students can relate, “politics always comes up” for Bonfante during her family dinners, as much as they try not to mention it.
For Lynette Grajales, a junior political science major, her family doesn’t “usually talk about politics, but it has become the case where we do end up talking about it…We are very open and non-judgmental.”
Meanwhile, some families just slam the door shut immediately when it comes to politics. This is the case for Katarina Tsodikov, a senior psychology major, as her family tries “to shut down political conversation really quickly.”
This is a similar occurrence for Manansala; he said that his family “never talks politics or tough topics because [they] don’t always get everyone together, so [they] want to make sure that [they] always enjoy [their] time together and not make anyone uncomfortable.”
How lovely it is to know that a holiday like Thanksgiving exists to bring families together, as Manansala said. It does not always have to be about disagreement, but the memories one makes that will last a lifetime.
SHU students provided moments from the previous Thanksgivings that they will always remember. Starting with Wysoczanski, she recalled an argument over whether “Tini’s mac and cheese is Thanksgiving food,” but this argument ended with political chaos and Wysoczanski leaving the house.
For Lynette Grajales, Thanksgiving is spent with family and friends.
“Every year we end up with so many people crowded around the table because my family often invites church friends who would otherwise spend the holidays alone,” Grajales said.
Her story is more chaotic in the sense of a huge group of people coming together to enjoy each other’s company.
Manansala's most chaotic moment at Thanksgiving dinner was “when [his] little brother Andrew was drinking sparkling cider out of a glass, and he very gently put it down on the table, and it somehow shattered into a million pieces.” This is definitely something many have experienced at least once at Thanksgiving.
Some of these Thanksgiving table moments can feel like a TV show. Students compared their holiday experiences to scenes straight from the big screen.
Wysoczanski: “'Friends', specifically the episode with Brad Pitt.”
Bonfante: “'Modern Family.'”
Manansala: “straight comedy.”
Grajales: “'La Familia P. Luche'”
Tsodikov: “The Friday night dinners in 'Gilmore Girls.'”
Overall, there is a vast range of chaos and entertainment.
With these stories, one thing is clear: Thanksgiving is about the moments we create with our family members. Although we wish to forget some, they will remain with us for the rest of our lives. Through the jokes and debates, this is what makes Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving.
Rocio Urquia is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. She can be reached at rocio.urquia@student.shu.edu.
