Not home, but alone: staying in NYC for break

Most students are packing their carry-on luggage to head out of town for Thanksgiving break. But CAS sophomore Zachary Troia doesn't need to; he has chosen to spend the holiday on campus.

"I chose to not go home," Troia explained. "Thanksgiving is a lot of fun, but there's always something that comes up when a large family gets together, and I just don't like dealing with it."

Troia said he would have had to use his own money to pay for the ticket home, and that his parents did not mind his choice to stay in the city since winter break is only a few weeks away.

"I'm actually really excited to have a long weekend to myself with no stress and nothing to do or worry about," Troia said. "It will be nice cause I won't have to deal with the stress of dealing with my family."

He said he didn't know of many other students who are staying in the city for Thanksgiving, aside from native New Yorkers.

"Last year I also chose not to go home, but I went to my relative's house in the city," Troia said. "It was nice having Thanksgiving with the other side of my family since there were no real obligations. It was simply go, have supper; then I had the rest of the weekend to do whatever else I wanted in the city."

Troia said this semester has been "awful" for him academically. He said the past few months have been completely consumed by studying for exams and doing homework.

"This [year], of all years, is the one where I need an entire weekend to myself with no family, no work, no school, no roommates. I just want to sleep," he said.

Troia is studying abroad next semester at NYU in London and has a lot to get done before winter break begins. He said he does not have set plans for Thanksgiving Day itself.

"I might just pretend like it's any other night and make whatever fancies me," Troia said. "I'm also considering going out someplace or making a massive meal because I love Thanksgiving food."

If he wakes up early enough, Troia plans to head to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"I always remember watching at least part of the parade every Thanksgiving. I think it would be fun to actually experience it in person," Troia said, adding that he plans to do some "stress shopping" on Black Friday. "Last Thanksgiving I ended up going on an epic walk on Black Friday just window shopping, so that will probably happen again."

He added: "I may also have to indulge in a 'Glee' marathon."

Troia recommends other students who are staying in the city to take time to relax during the long weekend: "This semester, everyone needs to relax whenever they get the chance, especially because we didn't have a fall break. I think everyone is just overly stressed, more so than NYU students normally are, so we all need a break to take some time for ourselves and not worry about school, work or internships. Take a deep breath and rest."