Sophomore Audrey Wu, is enthusiastic for this Thanksgiving break, even though her plans may not be per usual, due to the ongoing pandemic conditions. “I’m excited for this Thanksgiving break because my older sister is coming home from college,” Wu said. Her family intends to go up to Indy to get food and go shopping over the break. She also plans to put up her Christmas tree. 

  Like Wu, senior Lauren Waterford, plans to decorate her house for Christmas this break. She says that she will be hanging back this year and spending time with family close to home, due to the pandemic and having older relatives. 

But for some, it’s no different at all. Sophomore, Braxton Mullis, said that he’s doing Thanksgiving like normal. He claims he, “ha[sn’t] really thought about it yet,” and is probably spending the holiday as usual. Mullis explained, he’ll likely be having it at home while hanging out with family for the holiday. 

Thanksgiving will likely be similar to how fall break went, as far as having restrictions on the things you do, places you go, and people you hang out with. 

For junior Jacob Sowder, during his fall break, he and his family attended his sisters’ softball tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “Covid caused social distancing to be enforced and for people to wear masks. Other than that, it didn’t cause very much to happen,”  he explained. Sowder continued: “covid changed other families’ plans by causing people to be unable to visit the rest of their family.”

In addition to how fall break was affected by the coronavirus, the upcoming Thanksgiving break will be even more different from years past. Jacob says that, “as far as I know, my family is planning on having Thanksgiving separately, but we will all probably call each other,” he goes on to explain that,“covid worried my great grandmother about having Thanksgiving at her house, which is understandable.” Having more of a virtual Thanksgiving seems to be a common plan among families right now to protect themselves and relatives.  

The question of whether or not it is even okay to have large family gatherings right now for Thanksgiving has been floating around recently. After being asked his opinion on this question Sowder said, “I personally don’t think it’s okay, I only think it will complicate everyone’s health and hurt people in the end”. 

  Overall, the Thanksgiving travelers this year are estimated to go down 4.3% for people driving and a whopping 76.2% for people taking another form of transportation. In Monroe County, private gatherings over 15 people have been prohibited since August. All in all, many Americans’ plans have changed amid the pandemic, but still plan to make the best of the holiday.