With Thanksgiving having arrived, EIU students shared what Thanksgiving meant to them and what they are thankful for this season.  

“Thanksgiving is about good food with great company to me,” said sophomore English education major Faith Gallagher. “Whether it be family or friends, those around me who put the effort into gathering to enjoy a meal are what make Thanksgiving wonderful.”  

Gallagher said she’s thankful for the people she knows in her life, from her family to her boyfriend to her dog.  

She said she is grateful for all she has accomplished including how she has the opportunity to further her education at EIU and better her future despite the hardships she has ran into during her time in university.  

According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 73% of U.S. adults say that family time is one of the most important aspects of their lives. 

For Gallagher and many others, family time at Thanksgiving includes honoring those who have passed away.  

“My late great-grandmother used to host Thanksgiving every year when she was alive, and her food was incredible,” she said. “She’s Italian so she would make a lot of handmade dishes from Italy every year.”  

Now every year for Thanksgiving, Gallagher and family her remember her great-grandmother by eating lasagna for the holiday, she said.  

Sophomore English education major Madalynn Bloome has similar opinions when it comes to the Thanksgiving holiday.  

“Thanksgiving is all about getting together with the people I love and value most,” she said. “It is a day where everyone can put aside their differences and just enjoy each other’s presence and some great, home-cooked food.” 

Like Gallagher, Bloome said she was thankful for her education, as the second person in her family to attend university. Alongside this, she said she is very thankful for her family. 

“Many of my favorite Thanksgiving memories are with my father,” Bloome said. “Each Thanksgiving, he wakes up before the sun rises to prepare the meal for the day.”  

Bloome said that for years, her father didn’t want anyone to step into the kitchen until he completed the meal. For a few years now he has changed his stance on this rule, letting Bloome help him more and more as the years progress.  

She said she loves the bonding experience making food provides and appreciates the memories that are made. 

Another tradition in Gallagher’s family is to break a wishbone on Thanksgiving.  

Two people at the table grab a bone shaped like an upside-down Y, she said. Both pull until the bone cracks, and someone gets the larger broken piece of the bone. That person gets to make a wish.  

Gallagher said she and her older brother would play on Thanksgiving when they were younger. She said she’s won a few times but doesn’t remember her wishes.  

Both students highlighted that while they loved aspects of Thanksgiving, there are some negatives during the holiday. 

For Bloome, the benefit of Thanksgiving is spending time with all her family. But a negative for her is that Thanksgiving is one day with limited time.  

She said she likes having so many people who wish to spend time with her and her boyfriend, but she said that it is stressful having to move from place to place and spend less time with their respective families during the holiday.  

Gallagher shared some similar positives and negatives with Bloome. 

“The benefits are of course the great food and my wonderful family’s presence,” she said. “There is a bit of a negative with gathering all of the family and eating all of the food. Eating too much can make your stomach hurt if you’re not careful.” 

Alongside having a stomachache, Gallagher mentioned that sometimes certain family members can bring the mood down depending on where conversation goes at the table. 

Politics at the dinner table is a well-known stereotype for Thanksgiving, especially with 2024 being an election year. 

According to the Pew Research Center, around six-in-ten U.S. adults say having political conversations with people they disagree with is generally “stressful and frustrating.”  

EIU counselor Chelsy Cunningham explained some way students can manage any stress they have when it comes to the Thanksgiving holiday including making a cope ahead plan. 

A cope ahead plan, she said, is when someone considers an upcoming event/situation that will cause stress and identify ways in advance to manage emotions. 

Cunningham explained that students should have several plans for how to manage stress.  

She said they should imagine the desired outcome and think ahead of time about expected difficulties, making a plan for how to get through it. Next, identify potential triggers, develop a plan to manage emotional responses and practice the plan before the challenging situation occurs. 

 Another things people can do is use a three-by-three-by-three plan involving doing three different skills three different times for at least three minutes.  

Michelle Doty can be reached at 581-2812 or at mrdoty@eiu.edu.