Thanksgiving

            Holidays always seem to be a time of warmth and relaxation. Family members from far away come to enjoy each other’s company and greet one another with love and excitement. Thanksgiving is a holiday where these comforting feelings are present from the moment the smell of food reaches your nose. This year, I was especially looking forward to Thanksgiving. Upon returning home from months of school I felt that I had established myself, even in the smallest of ways, to finally be qualified at the forum of “elder” members of my family. After months of work and freedom from the household it was nice to come back to those who were supporting me all the while but the one aspect of thanksgiving that always troubles me  is my inability to “come of age” at family holidays. As I find myself at the kids’ table again, I wonder when I will be able to engage in the more adult conversations on the other side of the dining room. I feel able to contribute to conversations about politics and work related issues yet still I seem to lack the credibility necessary to participate. The questions that many guests ask me seem to be very generic and simply out of obligation. I continue to hope every year to finally break out from these invisible chains that seem to bind me to my youth. However, this complication that I encounter every year is nothing new and doesn’t keep me from enjoying one of the most relaxing holidays of the year.