Turkey season: Students express relaxation, relief heading into Thanksgiving break
Photo credit: Element5 Digital from unsplash.com, licensed for reuse
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and curfews in Los Angeles County, plans may be altered for Thanksgiving break. Junior Isabella Specchierla describes this “abnormal” Thanksgiving “as a time to be closer with family.”
November 23, 2020
This year, events and activities for Thanksgiving break will more than likely be altered due to COVID-19 and current Los Angeles County restrictions such as restricted in-person dining and 10 p.m. curfew for non-essential businesses. Students like eighth grader Sydney Curry are using the week-long break to “relax” and spend time with family and friends while maintaining social distancing guidelines.
Curry noted that Zoom is an “amazing” way to regroup with family and friends because of the “crazy year” teenagers have had with attending online school and having to readjust their initial schedules for the year.
“I think this break especially is really important because I know for me, right around this time of year I start feeling overwhelmed with school,” Curry said. “With us being at home it’s really hard to draw boundaries between home and school.”
Curry said that this year she wants to do something with her friends online for Thanksgiving “since it will not be the same” in comparison to the past Thanksgiving celebrations she has had.
“Even if [my friends and I] are just watching a Thanksgiving themed movie, or hanging out I really want to show my gratitude towards them and my family,” Curry said.
Junior Isabella Specchierla is “excited” for the break because she gets a chance to sleep more and that this break is going to be an “amazing stress reliever” from school to be more “creative” with her artwork.
“I will have more time to do art which I don’t get the time to do normally,” Specchierrla said. “I’m excited to just sit down and relax and de-stress with the art hobbies that I like to do when I have free time.”
Sophomore Noor Afshar said that not being able to travel or see family is “hard” and said that this break is a “great time” to catch up with her family and to take care of her own mental health.
“I think that overall it is not going to be too much of a paradise but instead it’s going to be more of a way to get centered with our own selves and our mental health,” Afshar said.
Afshar said that the only thing that will be the same this year is spending time with her family and friends while also staying safe.
“Having really fun dinners, making fun foods, just truly loving each other and spending a good night together is something I can’t wait to do,” Afshar said.
Specchierla expressed that she felt not as “excited” as she would be for past Thanksgiving dinners but is “looking forward” to what is in store for this year.
“It’s probably going to be a small Thanksgiving with my immediate family this year and I am staying positive about it,” Specchierla said. “I’m not disappointed which is good and I am honestly looking forward to seeing how different it’s going to be.”

Nyah Fernandez joined the Oracle as a staff reporter in 2019 and became the Multimedia Editor in 2020. She loves playing basketball and volleyball and...
As part of Archer’s active and engaged community, the Editorial Board welcomes reader comments and debate and encourages community members to take ownership of their opinions by using their names when commenting. However, in order to ensure a diverse range of opinions, the editorial board does allow anonymous comments on articles as long as the perspective cannot be obtained elsewhere, and they are respectful and relevant. Because we are a 6-12 school, the Editorial Board reserves the right to omit profanity. We do not publish comments that serve primarily as an advertisement or to promote a specific product. Comments are moderated and may be edited in accordance with the Oracle’s profanity policy, but the Editorial Board will not change the intent or message of comments. They will appear once approved.
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.