After the feasts you all hopefully had you must be ready to not visualize heaps of turkey/stuffing/sweet potatoes/all the other culprits until Thanksgiving 2013 rears its gloriously gluttonous head. If that's the case, I suggest not scrolling through this post. Your food coma might kick up again.
Like most other international students with family abroad, I face the tricky issue of deciding where to spend Thanksgiving every year. This year, for the first time, I decided to stay "home" (my New York apartment, that is) and cook up a storm. We cheated and ordered pre-made corn bread, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. But as far as the big-ticket items go... homemade turkey, homemade mashed potatoes, homemade sweet potatoes with marshmallows (my specialty). Now you understand my choice of boyfriend jeans, the perfect eating pants given their oversized fit.
I'm a sucker for most holidays, but I particularly like Thanksgiving because it calls for the type of probing introspection many (and certainly I) neglect to engage in regularly. At every age, every other day of the year, the focus seems to be on moving forward. What do you want to be when you grow up? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your resolutions for this coming year? Not to discount ambition or the importance of goal-setting; I mean, I'm not in law school for the free pizza. But it's comforting to know that, at least once a year, it will always be the right decision to set the future aside. To sit on the couch and watch football (or annoy your boyfriend while he does). To eat copiously without considering fat content or calorie count. To stroll under (and snap pictures amidst) the glorious Autumn foliage. To be thankful for good health, love, all the "futures" already realized in one's "present", and Youtube tutorials on how to prepare a turkey.
Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you all felt as appreciative and appreciated as I did. Enjoy the pictures after the jump!
