Thanksgiving break is a much-needed reminder for some of us to be thankful: thankful for the week-long break from school, thankful that most midterms are finally finished and thankful that we get a chance to spend some time at home instead of at the library. But it is also a chance to be thankful for the privileges we get as college students.

College provides us with a temporary shield from the stresses and struggles of the real world. It provides the chance for our most stressful thought to be about the history final we have coming up instead of about joining the other 10 percent of unemployed people in Illinois. It allows us time to search for our ideal job instead of taking the first thing that comes our way.

That’s not to say that we’re not affected by the weak economy, because we are – or will be for those of us graduating soon. But it’s easy to get caught up in our hectic schedules and exams we have to study for. Sometimes we forget that people in the “real world” are struggling to pay their bills and to find jobs. Sometimes we forget how good we have it on our college campus.

So for this Thanksgiving, it’s particularly important that we’re grateful that college provides us at least a short hiatus from the stresses of real life – that we can put those pressures off just a little bit longer. We actually get a break from the things that are most stressful to us, which does not happen for most people. We’ll eventually be hit hard by finals and projects when we come back, but compared to many families’ financial struggles, our worries are miniscule.

Even as we’re thankful for the “little bubble” of our college world, don’t forget to be appreciative of the time spent with family and friends this week. It’s rare that we get the chance to spend an entire week with people we care about the most. So while you can, let those people know how much you care about them.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, a safe trip home and enjoy your time off.