Giving Thanks for a Break

If you are anything like me, then the thought of Thanksgiving being so soon is enough to get butterflies in your stomach. While I am not exactly homesick, I am beyond excited to go home and see my family, eat my mom's food, and sleep in my bed. With Thanksgiving coming up so soon, I thought it was appropriate to talk a little about it. Although I am obligated by the theme of this blog to relate it so Massachusetts, I think discussing home and family a little makes more sense here.

Thanksgiving was actually founded in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and it's a story I'm sure most of you are familiar with. However, something I didn't know is that the town of Plymouth is full of historical sights and touristy things relating to Thanksgiving and the history of the Pilgrims. Personally I find it fascinating that you can visit a place that can basically recreate such a monumental event, and has many historical sites and events to go along with it. 

Obviously the food has a major impact on how happy Thanksgiving makes me, but it is much more than that. It is so warm and loving, and is symbolic of the things in life we are thankful for. A couple Mondays ago, when Professor Kramer asked us what we miss the most, everyone had different answers. For me, it is my family, but in particular my older sister. My sister Jamie is 21 years old, and has severe autism. It is difficult to describe her to people who do not know her, but in short she cannot do anything on her own. She doesn't have the capiliblity to think and do all the things we take for granted every day. She is the most important thing to me in the world, and the fact that I haven't seen her in three months blows my mind. Family is something I am extremely grateful for, and I took them for granted until I spent 500 miles away from them.

Thanksgiving is one of the times during the year we can completely relax and take a break from school, to be surrounded by our family and friends. Due to my family being extremely big, we can't all have dinner together, so we meet up for dessert. This is the time where my uncles and my dad all yell at each other with their thick Boston accents and ask how my "mahks" aka "marks" in school are, and when all my cousins reunite by playing cards and Mario Cart despite the oldest cousin being 27.

One of my dreams is Thanksgiving being around 10 times a year, but hey, a girl can only dream. I hope everyone has a great break, and enjoys Thanksgiving as much as I will!

The City Life

The city of Boston is many things; educated, old, trendy, diverse, and strong. The atmosphere and life in the city is completely different compared to the life in the rest of the state. The city is the place where we go for birthday celebrations and school field trips, where our parents work and where music festivals and concerts are held. It is full of life and possibility.

The actual city of Boston itself is full of old architecture and new, with a mishmach of disorganized streets and buildings.Boston was founded as early as 1630, which gives the city character, but also has left a somewhat messy layout. Many of these streets, areas, or buildings have significant meaning to the city; the area around Fenway Park is congested and very old, but remains an important part of the city, as well as many other parts.

Boston is also a trendy city, as like many. Majority of the people I see when I am there have a great taste in clothes and are always on the run to their necxt location with some sort of fancy drink in hand.  Looking at the styles and trends of the people around is fun, like people watching. Imagining where the next person is headed, what kind of things they do for a living, and being a clothes fanatic, I am always curious as to where they got their attire.

While Massachusetts is a state full of great schools, Boston has many that are world known, one being Harvard, another being MIT. There are also schools like Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern that are also incredibly diffciult to get into. This has given Boston a well educated reputation, especially since they are home to the first college in the country.

Living in an area right outside of Boston means that for many occasions, whether it be sweet sixteens, anniversary parties, post graduation celebrations, or anything similar to the above, that you will usually travel into Boston to celebrate. Finding a venue or a good restaurant, taking a walk around the sights, and just enjoying the Boston vibe is always a good time. Or in high school me and my friends would go into the city, stay at my friend's dad's apartment, and explore for the weekend, taking the train from the North End to Cambridge, shopping and eating and living a life different from our own suburban one.

While Boston is a smaller city, and not as famous or well visited as New York or Washington, it remains a great place to be at any given moment. Being in the city is sometimes overwhelming, especially if you are like me and have lived in suburbia for most of your life. But when it comes down to it, I can imagine myself being one of those cool people in their 20's, hustling and bustling in the city at their cool jobs, beginning their new life.