Thanksdreading

By Jillian Owens
November 29, 2013

Don’t worry, folks! It’s not all doom and gloom!

Ah! It’s the holiday season! Stores have been rolling out their festive merchandise for months. Thanksgiving travel plans have been made. Everyone is full of cheer, and happy to have this time to spend with their families! Well…not everyone.

While for many Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to look forward to, there are plenty of people out there that approach this time of year with sadness and dread. What if you don’t have a family? What if you and your family don’t have anything to do with each other? What if you love your family very much, but work, finances, or any number of things have made it impossible for you to travel to see them?

What if, while everyone else is super-happy, you just feel incredibly alone?

 

Thanksgiving can be a scary time for some…especially this guy.

Don’t worry, folks. It’s not all doom and gloom! While you might be stressing out over how you’re going to spend the holidays, you don’t have to. There are plenty of ways to enjoy this time of year, even if they’re a little unconventional.

Here are a few ways to get through what can be a tricky time:

• Ignore it. While everyone else is gnoshing on Turkey (which I’m convinced no one actually likes), make yourself a pizza and watch your favorite movies, read an favorite book, drink mimosas, and just treat this day off from work like an extra Sunday. Thanksgiving only exists if you choose to accept it.

• Travel away from it. Get out of your ethnocentric comfort zone! The vast majority of other countries don’t celebrate our Thanksgiving. Dust off your passport and go to Sweden!

 

It’s not the most practical option, but it is an option.

• Spend the day with your chosen family. I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “Your friends are the family you choose for yourself.” Aren’t you thankful for these awesome people? Why not share the day with them? You could host your own Turkey Celebration (even though no one enjoys consuming turkey) and invite your friends who are in the same boat as you to a fabulous feast. Or you could organize a fun cocktail hour later that evening. You’ll probably be invited to join a friend’s family for their Thanksgiving dinner, so why turn it down?

• Volunteer. Wanna know the best way to cure yourself of the blahs? Do something nice for someone else! Check out the United Way of the Midlands for all sorts of ways to go help others in your community. And you can help those warm fuzzy feelings stick around by volunteering throughout the year! It’s a win/win situation.

I hope these ideas help some of you feel a little better going into a time of year that is wonderful for some and really tough for others. Most of all, I hope we can all find something…no matter how small…to be thankful for and that we can all take good care of each other.

 

Jillian Owens is a writer, designer, and eco-fashion revolutionary. A Columbia SC transplant, she graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BFA in Theatre and English. When she’s not gallivanting about, she’s busy refashioning ugly thrift store duds into fashionable frocks at ReFashionista.net. Jillian has been featured on The Rachael Ray Show, Good Afternoon America, ABC Columbia, Jasper Magazine, Skirt, Columbia Metropolitan, The Free Times, Grist, and NYC’s Guest of a Guest. She also reviews local theater productions for Jasper Magazine and Onstage Columbia. 

 

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