Everything you probably did if you were alone over Thanksgiving Break
Sorry if you were
You heard that tragic sound as soon as Thanksgiving break began – the definitive click of the door as your roomie hurried off to catch a plane or train home, leaving you alone for the rest of the week. What seemed like a nice break from classes quickly turned into the longest five days of your life. No one else was around, the entire dorm was quiet. We know you did at least some of these things to pass the time.
Constantly compared your current situation to everyone at home
Admit it. Everyone else was cozy at home, enjoying home-cooked meals and fresh hot cider, while you sweated in your too-hot dorm, ordering in the same pizza you ate last week and heating water on the stove to make some instant hot chocolate. Everyone else was laughing with family, hanging out with friends, and the best you could do was laugh at the cast of Friends as you watched every Thanksgiving episode of every television show ever.
Compare this to your sad pizza or cup of ramen
Took advantage of the empty room
Maybe you did everything you’ve dreamed of doing but your social grace prevented you from actually carrying out. You might have sang as loud as possible in the shower. Jumped on the beds. Walked around naked. Stored the bodies of your enemies in the coat closet.
Watched Netflix until your eyes bled
You probably thought staying warm in bed and watching Netflix would be the perfect way to unwind. But after the second day of break, you were already on season 7 of How I Met Your Mother. Hours later, you looked up, blinking for what felt like the first time in years, realized that you will never find love like Ted, and dissolved into tears.
After that you moved on to The Office
Did your homework
Wait a second. You were bored out of your mind, but you still didn’t go anywhere near that Calculus problem set.
Stalked or avoided social media
Everyone was posting photos of family, food, fun, or all of the above. If your friends weren’t back at home with their family, they were traveling around the globe, and they have the Snapchat geotags to prove it. You dealt with this by scrolling on Instagram for so long it felt like your thumb was going to fall off, hating everyone who was having the time of their lives. Or, you avoided social media like the plague, knowing it would only depress you more as you sank deeper into your cocoon of messy blankets coated in crumbs.
This is exactly what you didn’t want to see
Slowly became delusional
When you stood by the window, you could have sworn your best friend was on the corner of the street, but on closer inspection, you saw it was only the stop sign shrouded in fog. You fantasized about turkey dinners and your own bed at home for so long, you could practically smell turkey cooking in the oven. When you went into the kitchen, though, the light was off. The oven was empty, and so was your soul.
What you thought you would see
What you actually saw