Less than a week away from my favorite holiday of the year and I’m excited. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is enjoyable for a lot of people and for me it’s my favorite. 

I can’t even think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Which is tough, because of streaming services with Christmas movies and the fact that the Jonas Brothers released a new Christmas song. 

Thanksgiving to me and my family is a time where we can gather and do multiple things. 

It starts with food. Growing up I looked forward to being at my grandparents’ house eating ham, turkey and my grandmother’s delicious chicken noodle soup. 

From there it goes deeper into time and bonding with my family. My family is evenly split between the state of Illinois and two family members living in Oklahoma. Every Thanksgiving I get to sit down with family I haven’t seen for a while and tell them stories about my time here at Eastern, and then I hear their stories about their life. 

The family time is a time of reflection on memories good and bad but also a time of comfort. A couple years back the death of my great grandmother was difficult for all of us to get past.

We rejoice in the memories of her life and are thankful for her teachings that are in all of our lives. There is always a joke cracked or a good memory included in our time together that pushes us through the bad times. 

My family enjoys our time together through that, but also playing games is huge for us. Growing up we played a lot of games such as Pictionary, Cranium and Catch Phrase. 

There is no better feeling to me during the holidays than playing a game with my family and being able to give them my attention for that time period. I leave the distractions and negativity at the door of my grandparents’ house, and I turn to the positivity and memories about to happen. 

Thanksgiving is also a time that I reflect on what I am thankful for. This year I’m reflecting on being a college senior here at Eastern, my family, my brotherhoods and the opportunities I continue to revive from The Daily Eastern News and at the radio station. 

So I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break. Remember to also take some time and reflect on what you are thankful for in your life. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

Blake Faith is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at bmfaith@eiu.edu.