by Bug St-Cyr

This year was my first Thanksgiving break as a college student and it did not quite go as expected. I decided to stay on campus for this year’s break because it was too expensive to go home for such a short amount of time. Luckily, my roommate stayed here with me which made it less of a lonely experience, but we were met with some interesting experiences. 

The first day of break we were woken up to the intercom telling us the lobby of 33 Beekman was flooded and that we must stay in our dorms until told otherwise. We looked out our window and saw puddles of water seeping through the cracks of the pavement outside the dorm building. They informed us that the water would also be shut off until further notice, meaning no using the shower, sink or toilet for the majority of the day. It was not until 3pm when I called security that they told us we could use the water; we had to run the water for ten minutes before it was safe to use it. The water smelled so horrible and it was brown. For the rest of break the water was fine but it was definitely not the best way to start the first morning of break. 

Honestly, life on campus with no one here has a lot of benefits. The laundry room is completely empty (which means you can use as many washers as you want), the elevators come immediately and are always empty, and you can blast music in your dorm because no one is there to complain. It was honestly really nice to have a break from campus on campus. One downfall is that the dining hall was closed so my roommate and I had to buy our own groceries and food for the week. We were really missing Pasta Rich!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving break on campus was being able to go to the Macy’s Day Parade. I have watched the parade on TV every year since I was a little kid, so getting to actually go to it was a dream come true. Everyone back home was so jealous that I was able to go this year. If you are ever considering going to the parade, I can assure you that you do not have to wake up at 4am to get a good spot. My friend and I actually got there five minutes late and were able to squeeze our way to the front. Many people will leave in the first half, so there is no need to stress about getting a good spot. I suggest going to W 44st near Times Square on the opposite side of Radio City; it’s a perfect spot. 

If you are thinking of spending break on campus next year I definitely suggest doing it, especially if you also want to avoid your family!