I Will Remember You: Thoughts on My Final Peircegiving
I didn't realize it was my final Peircegiving until I was halfway through my vegan stuffing. I looked at my plate, the food piled taller that the plate was wide, and realized that this tradition was something I took for granted for so long.
Peircegiving is Peirce Hall's, our dining hall, annual Thanksgiving celebration. There's gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, turkey, pasta, cookies, CAKE. It's insane — and everyone knows it.
You'll learn almost immediately that to have a successful Peircegiving, you gotta get there at 3 p.m., a full two hours before dinner is served.You stake out a table with your friends, and by 4 p.m., the dining hall is filled. The buzz only intensifies as the food starts getting set up — a long buffet line, with the turkey brought in last to a round of applause. The line forms, stretching out of the room and into the lobby, where dessert and drinks are located.
Once you've made it to the table, you gotta LOAD UP, because you will not want to wait in the long line again for seconds. Even if you're not sure if you'll like something, get it. Then get your drinks, get your dessert. This is a crazy, animalistic time and you just gotta embrace it.
And it's so much fun. No matter how stressed you get waiting in line, the energy is unparalleled. It's a community experience as well as a personal experience all in one. And it will never happen again for me, but next time I celebrate Thanksgiving, I'm gonna make people fight for it — for old time's sake.