Yesterday was Thanksgiving, which meant school was closed.
It also meant that I got to sleep in past 10 am for the first time in 3 weeks. REJOICE. I got the day off to hang out with my friends downtown and just have genuine fun goofing off as we used to in high school. We also had ramen for lunch, which is always welcome~
Our family never really celebrated Thanksgiving in the sense where we made it a big deal of preparing a turkey dinner and all that, but the sentiment was always there. Instead of turkey dinner we had macaroni and cheese, roast beef and cinnamon rolls. In my family, this combo is super rare and is basically as special as turkey dinner. (my family is weird but I love it)
Coincidentally enough, October the 10th is also Taiwan Day, so having two holidays on one day was kind of cool.
This Thanksgiving is the first one that I spent as a university student. (This year is just full of firsts wow how exciting) Putting all the school-induced angst aside, which I have been accumulating exponentially in the past week, I really do have many many things to be thankful for this year.
Despite the school-induced stress as I said, I am thankful to be a student at UBC. Why? Sure, the course load is absolutely horrendous (but then again I put this on myself I regret everything), I’m struggling with homework more often than not, and I actually wanted to move away from Vancouver for university, but I’m actually glad that I ended up staying here. Being admitted to UBC and going to UBC meant that I didn’t have to leave my family behind when I started university. Me being an emotionally dependant person, I don’t think I would have survived my first month of uni without the support of my family (and my cats). I often think that if I had chosen to live on res, I would have lost my mind out of loneliness and desolation at this point. But then again I’m probably just weak willed so I can’t handle moving to new territory alone. I will always be grateful that I have my family to go back to after the hours I spend at the Nest doing homework and studying, and I am grateful that they have always had my back and have always supported me for the 18 years of my life.
I am grateful for the new people I have met in the short time I have spent at UBC, for sharing the same interests as me and accepting me for who I am. (I’m incredibly awkward, making friends is so hard you have no idea) I am grateful of my friends, newly made and from high school. I am grateful for my friends from high school that came to UBC along with me for keeping me company and anchoring me in the seas of classmates I have to encounter everyday. Without them, I would have felt so much more scared starting lectures and taking on university life. I am grateful for my high school friends that aren’t in UBC, but still keep in touch, so that I know we have a support system no matter where we are in the world. (also to complain to each other about school from across the city/country/world~) I am grateful to be part of the UBC PhotoSoc as well as other clubs, and grateful to them for letting my strange awkward self into their community, and letting me finally find a group of people that share the same hobbies (and taste in music) as me.
I am grateful to have grown up in Vancouver and Taiwan, to be able to access all the opportunities I have been given. I am grateful towards my manager and coworkers at work, for giving me the opportunity to grow as a person and for teaching me so much everyday. I am grateful to be privileged enough to live the life I have, and for being surrounded by so many inspiring people and opportunities.
All that being said, I have a lot to work towards as I have so many things that have shaped me into who I am today. I know that I have to work hard to make my friends and family proud, and I want to be able to give back to them as much as possible. This then gives me more reason to work hard, and it gives me an end goal.
School started again today, and my day long break has unfortunately ended (I miss high school already D:). I know that I haven’t done as well I wanted to for the past month, so I see this as a new beginning. Now’s the time to work hard and redeem myself.
Here’s to attempting to survive the rest of the term and not collapsing in the process!!!
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