On Turkey
By Sayer Devlin, Managing Editor
While Thanksgiving is a bad holiday (why do we celebrate white colonists exploiting and eventually committing a genocide against Native Americans?) right now I’m thankful for and looking forward to turkey. While the much maligned meat has taken a beating for being dry or difficult to cook, it is actually delicious. Brining, stuffing, trussing and roasting turkey is labor intensive but doing that work with loved ones is also so damn fun. And enjoying a golden brown bird with crisp, shattered skin is delicious when done well (turkey drippings are also delectably delicious). To those complaining that turkey is too dry, perhaps you should reevaluate your cooking method (or get involved in the kitchen).
On Her Wonderful Mom
By Melanie Pineda, Deputy Opinion Editor
Thanksgiving has always been my mom’s favorite holiday. She loves reflecting on everything she’s thankful for; her kids, her home and her parents. She constantly sacrifices everything in her life to make those she loves happy. Yet she asks for nothing in return other than for my whole family to be together during the holidays. So this year, and every year for the rest of my life, I’m thankful to have a mom as strong willed, caring and loving as mine. Thank you for everything, mami.
On Thanksgiving Traditions
By Hanna Khosravi, Deputy Opinion Editor
Every year on Thanksgiving, my Dad and I roast a chicken instead of a turkey — because no one likes turkey, and we all pretend that it’s a formidable main course option once a year (when we all know it really only belongs as a cold cut on a sandwich). I spend the entire year reminiscing about the day spent dancing around the kitchen roasting the chicken, planning the eclectic side dishes with my Mom and Dad, blending up oats and almonds for the crust of our signature pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving dinner itself is always an event — but the day leading up is when the true magic happens, when the moments are passed sneaking bites of stuffing and inaugurating the holiday season with the first bout of holiday music playing in the house. Those chicken-roasting hours, swaying along to Frank Sinatra in our pajamas, epitomize the essence of Thanksgiving to me. And now that I’m away from home at college, I wait all year for the lovely comfort of Thanksgiving break and cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. I’ll always be grateful that I can make these cozy November memories and hold them tight.
On WSN Staff
By Jemima McEvoy, Editor-in-Chief
There are never enough opportunities for me to rave about the WSN staff. The paper wouldn’t exist without them; this university wouldn’t be the same without them. Everyone in the newsroom works incredibly hard for incredibly long hours every week for little-to-recognition or reward. No one complains when we leave at midnight on a Tuesday, or stay until 3 a.m. making the print edition on Sundays. There’s always a part of me that gets emotional when I see dozens of students filter into the office on a Sunday morning, still half asleep, when they could be doing a million other things. There’s no way I can express the full extent of my admiration for the people who make up WSN, but I can say, it’s truly an honor to work with such talented, dedicated people. I don’t get to say that enough.
On Careless NYU Students
By Alejandro Villa Vasquez, Deputy Managing Editor
I’m never going to buy anything again. Going to a school where most kids come from families in the top tax bracket means careless students leaving behind all sorts of nifty things that improve my quality of life. It’s like being in a video game and entering the right room with the treasure chest that you smash to reveal a sick power-up. You’d think people would take better care of their possessions, but thankfully they don’t. I’ve found everything from MetroCards with $20 on them to an unopened bottles of Too Faced foundation. In fact, as I type this, I’m also charging my phone with a six-foot charger that I found in the commuter lounge (gotta love internationals). After all, we know how the saying goes: one man’s trash is this girl’s 30-ounce Hydro Flask.
On Generous Baristas
By Janice Lee, Opinion Editor
One of the best feelings in the world is when a barista gives you coffee on the house. Last week, I went to a cafe to get some interviews for my journalism class and I interviewed the barista to learn more about the business. And afterward, I ordered coffee and once she made it, I took out my card to pay but she stopped me and told me not to worry about it. Her generosity really brightened my day on that Wednesday morning — not only did she take five minutes of her time to answer my questions but she also treated me to coffee. I guess it’s ultimately a pretty small gesture, but receiving something so freely is just a nice reminder of the potential for kindness that people have.
On Puppies
By Tianne Johnson, Deputy Culture Editor
I am thankful for so many things in my life, like my family, education, friends and so much more. I try to practice gratitude each day. Ironically though, I sometimes have trouble finding joy in the small things. So, I’ve been trying to list the small things that I’m grateful for at the end of each day. On my list for today would have to be dogs. I love dogs and find it impossible to be sad with all the precious pups roaming New York City streets. The world could be crashing and burning, but just step outside and I guarantee you’ll see a cute little puppy. I feel like Greenwich Village is overflowing with friendly pups. That always makes me feel a little less tense in this neighborhood.
On Finding Friends
By Oishi Goswami, Copy Editor
I’m thankful for finding a group of supportive friends so relatively early in the school year: they genuinely look for the best in me. And with them, I thrive. As a first-year in a class of about 7,000, the idea of finding people who you resonate with seems daunting — and it was. Club meeting after club meeting, class after class, I searched high and low for people I connected with but to no avail. Funnily enough, I met my friends in an elevator on the way up to a lecture, and being the nerds we all are, we started debating the merits of ethics in the pharmaceutical industry. The rest, well, is history.Zz
Email WSN Staff at [email protected].