A Month of Thanksgiving | Student Blog

Looking back on this whirlwind of a semester, I’ve realized that I have so much to be thankful for.

Each month has presented new challenges and opportunities for growth, and November was certainly no exception! With a few days off to collect myself and prepare for the final few weeks of the semester, here are the little things I had to be thankful for in November:

• autumn colors

Central Park was ablaze with fall foliage, if only for a week or two, which gave me plenty of reasons to go on photo shoots or walks through the park. I took a lot of photos for friends this month, and we learned through trial and error the best—or rather, least crowded—photo-worthy spots in the park.

• running

I injured my foot in late October and had to spend two weeks in crutches. During that time, I learned very quickly to never take for granted having two working feet in a pedestrian-heavy city like New York! Once I healed, I was so grateful to be able to both walk and run again. I cheered the finishers on in the New York City Marathon (so inspiring!!) before running the Philadelphia Marathon a few weeks later!

Everyone who’s spoken to me for more than a few minutes knows that I’ve been training for this marathon for months, so it was such a huge victory finally being able to run it. I’ve gotten so much support and good energy from my friends—two of them even ran mile 25 to the finish line with me!

November is one of my favorite times of year to run because of the cooler temperatures and the beautiful colors in the trees. Even though after Daylight Savings it was dark every time I got up, I still found joy in seeing a sleepy New York City in the mornings. I learned to find happiness in the sunrises I got to see, the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet, and the familiar faces I encountered on my running path every day.

• Friends, family, and food

From squash to soups to baked goods, autumn food is so cozy and comforting. The cooler mornings gave me the perfect excuse to bake more, and I hosted my first Friendsgiving right before the break. Even though all of us were practically drowning in schoolwork AND it snowed six inches that night, it was still so lovely to bring all my friends together for a few hours of stress-free holiday cheer. The college memories I’ll cherish the most are the ones spent in a too-small New York City apartment with cheap paper plates and holiday lights strung up on every available surface and the warm buzz of happy conversation.

Now that school is back in session and there are only a few weeks left to go, I’m so excited to plunge headfirst into both performances and holiday festivities! (Not so excited about finals, though…)