By: Charlis Vega

College students can’t wait for the freedom from their parents as they return to class after a long summer of working and rules enforced that prevent them from doing things they want, but as the long days of school, practice and studying go by, students miss their family, friends, and homes and long for a nice warm hug from loved ones during this holiday.

image

That’s why during thanksgiving many students who live far away from USM question whether or not it’s worth going home for five days and a big Thanksgiving dinner, because most students who live more than an 8 hour drive its too expensive and it may not be worth the $700 plane ticket to burden parents with. Kendall Fleming a sophomore states,” I think it’s worth going home for Thanksgiving or any other breaks because I rarely get to go home, so when I do I get to spend time with family. I don’t think it’s a burden for my parents to spend money on a plane ticket, because they want me to come home just as much as I want to be home.” Another factor of why students may not want to go home for break is because they have practice or functions that they must attend due to school obligations and they must remain in Leavenworth and put these obligations at a higher priority than going home. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for one’s family and what they have left behind in order to attend USM. Many students miss a nice home-cooked meal after eating cafeteria food all the time or struggling to buy food if they don’t have a meal plan. Most students going into college don’t realize just how much they needed and depended on their parents and when Thanksgiving comes around and it’s time to make a decision on whether or not to go home for five days, most students are in a dilemma because as much as they’d love to go home, when searching plane ticket costs for a round trip it comes out to be around $700, so when asked the question of whether it’s worth going home for break, students state that they think it’s worth going home because their parents are spending the money for them to go home during the holidays and it makes them more thankful and appreciative of the time spent with loved ones, yet others want to stay around in Kansas so their parents won’t spend money on an expensive plane ticket or car drive when they know they will go home for Christmas break.

 

Charlis Vega is a freshman at the University of Saint Mary and is studying English.