8 Opinion
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How Do You Celebrate Thanksgiving? Dana Livingston Historically, the first Thanksgiving marked the communion of the Plymouth Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans in the early seventeenth century. It inspired the annual modern American holiday marked by family get-togethers, acts of gratitude and football. Thanksgiving Day is an excuse to release your inner glutton and gorge on anything (and everything) that’s in front of you. At least, that’s the way I see it. Growing up, Thanksgiving was a very important holiday that I always spent with my mother’s family. With my maternal grandmother’s birthday on Nov. 22, Thanksgiving was a cross between a birthday party and a family reunion.By some cruel stroke of fate, our house was chosen to host Thanksgiving dinner year after year. I remember the week before Thanksgiving being a period of (dis)organized chaos: Mass cleaning efforts, hordes of family flying in from all over the country and countless trips to the supermarket. For my mother, everything had to be perfect. The utensils weren’t aligned? She panicked. The dessert wasn’t room temperature? She panicked. Every little hiccup held the power to tip her over the edge.
For what, a couple of hours of eating? I didn’t think that all the stress it caused those around me was worth it — I still don’t. As I grew older, some of the responsibilities that caused my mother so much stress were passed on to me. I used to only be responsible for making sure that I showed up, greeted family and guests, ate and shuffled on to bed. When I reached my teenage years, the Thanksgiving season became less of a time to celebrate and more of a time to dread
the influx of meddling relatives. So how do I celebrate Thanksgiving today? When my maternal grandmother passed away two years ago, my family decided to create a new tradition: Staying home to appreciate our immediate family. Thanksgiving is no longer such a big deal for my family. No more fuss, no more big parties and certainly no extended family. Now when we celebrate it’s just the four of us: My mother, my father, my brother and myself. My father and brother get bundled up,
Debunking Astrology Olivia Mathon Astrology has always been a popular trend amongst today’s youth, and from what I can see, especially amongst social media users. Due to the lack of self confidence in today’s youth, publications on social media apps, such as on Snapchat’s Discover feature, pry upon these weaknesses to make themselves more marketable. They use horoscopes to instill various complementary words into their users. I don’t particularly believe in it, as to me it’s just a bunch of generic words. But, there is something about astrology that attracts people. Why? According to Julie Beck, a journalist for popular news magazine The Atlantic, astrology is the study of where the sun, moon and planets up and interact with each other, making up the 12 signs of the zodiac. The most commonly discussed astrological idea is the zodiac sign, or your sun sign. Based upon your sun sign, a determination can be made about your personality. Everyday there are multiple posts on social media and media outlets, such as “Vice,” that include daily horoscopes. Seeing this day after day makes me wonder why people buy into astrology. Putting faith into the universe and hoping that the horoscope reading will give some glimpse into my future is not something that interests me. There is no scientific proof or evidence behind astrology. “Astrology is not a science; there’s no evidence that one’s zodiac sign actually correlates
to personality,” Beck said. Amanda Hess of The New York Times said that, “It can be disquieting, and maybe a little dangerous, to see otherwise journalistic publications look to pseudoscience for answers.” The scientific research that has gone into astrology and its reliability is a debate that has been around for ages. Being told by a random online source whether or not you’ll hit it big with the lottery, or randomly find your “forever person” are just written words to make you feel confident. Needing the validation of strangers online to gain confidence in yourself should say a lot about society today. We are living in a world where self-esteem is at an all-time low, while stress is at an all-time high. I feel that this creates a need for ‘soft’ entertainment that motivates people to do their best, resulting in the increase in the reliance on astrology. Due to the sensitive nature of today’s youth, buying into daily horoscopes seems dangerous in today’s culture. “It risks becoming the free-spirited liberal equivalent of pushing aside facts inconvenient to one’s worldview as ‘fake news.’ But reports of astrological acceptance rising among younger generations might overstate the case,” Hess said. Whether or not you buy into the idea of your zodiac sign relating to your personality is not the issue at hand. I don’t believe it, as there is no evidence whatsoever, but maybe you need to think less about whether you’ll be lucky today and more about why you need some online source to tell you that.
go outside and fry a turkey. My mother and I cook simple sides together inside while the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade plays in the background. When all the food is done, we each fill up our plates, sit in front of the television and enjoy our food while we watch Thanksgiving Day football. Although our Thanksgiving celebrations as of late have been small in comparison to what they used to be, it is this sense of intimacy that has made my family’s Thanksgiving Day traditions hold more importance in my life than any other holiday.
Is Black Friday Honestly Worth all the Hassle? Sara Rodia With Thanksgiving right around the corner, another popular day is right on its heels: Black Friday. For those of you who may not know, Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving where stores across the country have huge discounts on products. Take a look online and you’ll already begin to see deals popping up or previews of the deals that are going to be offered on Black Friday. However, there’s one big question regarding this day — is it worth the hassle? Personally, I think it is most certainly worth the hassle. While, yes, there are a lot of people and you often have to get there early to get the really good deals, what you walk away with at the end of the day makes it worth it. For me, Black Friday is when I purchase all of my electronics. Last year, I purchased my MacBook for 20 percent off the original price. For expensive electronics such as computers, tablets or phones, these savings can be very beneficial. It’s important to look online prior to Thanksgiving to find the best sales and when they start. It is not unusual
for these sales to start either early Friday morning or even on Thanksgiving night. My father and my brother went one year to stand in line late Thanksgiving night for an iPad sale that began at midnight. On top of the great deals you find on Black Friday, it’s also an enjoyable time to have with your friends. I’ve been going out on Black Friday every year with my friends for the past several years. It’s a tradition for us now. This is especially important for us now that we’re in college and don’t see each other as often as we used to. If you don’t feel up to going out on Black Friday, to find these deals, you can also shop online on Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is the Monday following Thanksgiving where you can find large discounts on products online. Cyber Monday is a great alternative for people who don’t want to go out on Black Friday, as you get very similar deals while avoiding the trouble of going out into the masses. Personally, I enjoy going out on Black Friday and shopping online on Cyber Monday, making the most of the two. If you’ve never ventured out on Black Friday, I suggest you grab some friends and make the trip out this year.