The purpose of this column is to support you. First-Gen Life will offer tips, stories and guidance to help first generation students not just survive, but thrive here at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
Many first-gen students grow up in homes where life rarely pauses. There’s always someone waking up before the sun, someone coming home late or someone, most likely you, trying to finish an assignment with a deadline hanging over your head. We learn early on what it means to carry more than our share, to grow up a little faster and to move through the world with a level of responsibility most people our age don’t fully understand.
That’s why holidays like Thanksgiving carry a different kind of meaning for us. They aren’t just a date on the calendar. They’re one of the few moments when the rhythm of our families changes. For once, the house isn’t buzzing with people rushing in and out. The kitchen is loud again, but in a good way; in the way that sounds like the memories you didn’t know you had felt nostalgia for.
And for many first-gen families, Thanksgiving has never been about following corporate holiday traditions or the polished version of the day of giving we see advertised everywhere. We know the unfortunate history behind this day and those who profit from it. However, our celebrations aren’t rooted in that. Instead, we take the day as a rare chance to gather, to breathe and to share a meal with the people we don’t get to see enough. It becomes less about the holiday itself and more about what it allows us to do. It allows us to be together without rushing.
There is a feeling that rises in these moments — a mixture of gratitude, relief and recognition. You look around and realize how much you’ve grown in the past year. You notice how proud your parents are, even if they don’t always know the details of your major or the stress of finals. Your family asks how school is going because they genuinely want to see you doing well. These small moments become reminders of why you’re working so hard in the first place.
Thanksgiving might look different for each of us. Maybe you’re going home. Perhaps you’re staying close to campus and celebrating with friends who feel like family. Maybe you’re creating your own traditions because adulthood requires you to redefine what “home” means. No matter how you spend it, the heart of the day stays the same. It gives you permission to pause. To rest. To remember what matters outside of grades, expectations or deadlines.
This year, I hope you take that pause seriously. Take the day and make it yours. Spend time with your family, your loved ones, your friends and the community that surrounds you. Let yourself be present. Let yourself rest. Feel proud of how far you’ve come, even if you are still figuring things out.
Happy Thanksgiving! You deserve a moment that belongs to you. You deserve a day when the world slows down just enough for you to feel grounded again.
