Thanksgiving at Brown: a play-by-play
9am: I woke up to a sky covered by a thin layer of clouds. Great. With no obligations, I cuddled under my big white comforter for another 30 minutes before finally getting up and showering away the stench of the night from myself, music blasting from my bedroom.
10am: For breakfast, I had a leftover doughnut from Knead Doughnuts and a mug of earl grey tea, but let’s be honest – tea does not pair that nicely with sugary doughnuts, try as I might to convince myself that it did. With hair still wet, I put on my coat and walked to Starbucks to get some coffee. The winds slapped me across my face during my two-minute walk, nearly suffocating me. But the pairing of black coffee with my doughnut was worth it.
10:30am-2pm: “I’m gonna be so productive today!” I said as I plopped down on my bed for the next three-and-a-half hours. What did I do during this time? I think I texted my family (at one point responding to my older brother and my sister’s boyfriend that if they didn’t make Christmas wish lists, I’d buy them both naked anime figurines), I edited photos, and I definitely played Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
2:30pm: Around this time, my stomach asked for food, so I journeyed to the Ratty. Once there, I went through the trouble of securing a to-go container (“You can’t have one.” “But they’re… right there.” *I point to the boxes 2 inches away* “Yeah, but you can’t have them on a day like today.” “I gave out boxes earlier. Some people just don’t wanna eat in here.” “But I was told they can’t have to-go boxes.” “No, it’s okay.” “Can I… take a box?”), and then I filled that baby up with semi-decent yet overly dry food: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, pumpkin pie. I then went to my friend’s room and scarfed it all down.
3pm-4:30pm: I sat on my friend’s bed and watched her struggle with origami. I texted my dad. I played Animal Crossing. Fun. I then walked back to my dorm as the sun was setting.
5pm-8pm: I napped.
8pm: I woke up, hungry, and whipped up some saltines and cream cheese. Gourmet!
8:30pm-12am: I played Animal Crossing while also texting my aunt, and when I got up to wash my face (I’m not disgusting), I glanced out my window and saw lights on in the CIT. (Yes, someone was working there on Thanksgiving night, as well as every night this break, sometimes until 2am.) Eventually, I fell asleep as my fingers clumsily completed requests on Animal Crossing.
I went into this thinking I’d be able to document myself as being a highly-productive woman. Instead, I just confirmed that I am incredibly lazy when I have no obligations. Really, the amount of laziness I had on campus on Thanksgiving is just as much as I usually have at home. But at home, I can at least make myself seem “productive” by talking to relatives. Here, I was just a lazy sack of Animal Crossing playing, text messaging, food consuming, nap taking potatoes.
Images via Elliana Reynolds '22.
