Thanksgiving break a chance to see personal growth

Going home for Thanksgiving is the first chance many Pitt freshmen have had to see how they… Going home for Thanksgiving is the first chance many Pitt freshmen have had to see how they might have changed since high school.

After reflecting on their break, some freshmen said they think the 13 weeks that have elapsed in the semester changed them for the better.

“The biggest change I’ve seen between when I left for college and now is in my attitude towards things that come up,” Pitt freshman Lily Dubin said.

Petty things and gossiping about “who is dating who” don’t interest her as much as hearing about her friends’ experiences and how college has been treating them, she said.

“I feel like I’ve always been an independent person, so I wouldn’t say that I’ve grown up, but more so [that I] have a new outlook on priorities,” Dubin said.

James Cox, director of the University Counseling Center, said that because it’s so short, Thanksgiving break might not tell students much about how they’ve changed.

Students usually look forward to going home for Thanksgiving, so it’s easy to get along with family and friends for a couple of days, and they usually don’t have to deal with much drama, Cox said.

Attending college five hours from home has forced Pitt freshman Lindsay McMenamin to become more independent.

“I think that I’ve grown up in a way, because being away at Pitt, I’ve been exposed to a lot more diversity and culture,” she said. “My other friends mostly go to college nearby and see the same people all the time. So to be honest, I don’t think they have grown up too much because they haven’t really gotten out of their comfort zone.”

The five-day break allowed students to eat home-cooked food, see their families and reconnect with their friends.

Freshman Avery Lewis said she and her friends “got together for lunch over break, and they were all talking about who gained the freshman 15 from our high school, and I couldn’t help but to laugh at them, not with them, for once,” she said.

“I’m not above gossiping or anything,” she said. “It was just funny coming back from school to my old group of friends who are so different from the new ones I’ve made here.”

Because Thanksgiving break is so short, students notice the most change in themselves over winter break. It’s more of an adjustment for the family and student, especially because it’s a longer break and students return from having independence at school, Cox said.

Pitt sophomore Jennie Snyder reminisced about her freshman year of college.

“I remember during my freshman year Christmas break, I really got a sense of not only how I had changed, but also my friends,” Snyder said. “Just listening to them talk about their experiences at college and where their priorities were in terms of their classes and social obligations made me fully grasp how much we were all growing up, whether good or bad.”