Opinions, Column, Featured Column

Thanksgiving 2019: What The Heights Board Is Grateful for

Steven Everett: I’m thankful for the 98 editors I’ve had the privilege of working with who have put countless hours into what has become my defining experience at Boston College.

Andy Backstrom: Above all else, I’m thankful for my family and friends, as well as all of the memories I share with them. I’m also thankful for the academic and extracurricular opportunities that I’ve been presented with, particularly The Heights. I’m thankful for the mentors that have given me guidance throughout my life and my college experience—they’ve always reminded me how important it is to appreciate the small things, like the Interstellar soundtrack, Pixar, Nintendo, Settlers of Catan, and the everlasting hope that comes with being an Arizona Cardinals fan.

Jacob Schick: “I am thankful for the people I love, and for those who love me. I am thankful for the amazing opportunities I have been given, like going to this school, being a part of this organization, and for all of the things to come. I am thankful for these big things, and also for the little: Movies, books, bagels, and the feeling of nostalgia for the present moment with the hope of more to come.”

Emerson DeBasio: “I’m thankful for sunbutter because I am allergic to peanut butter (even though my mom still forgets about it, it still exists.) I’m thankful for odd numbers, blue and red (but the french way) and broken checkered shoes. I’m thankful for Sundays. I’ll miss spending them with the rats and the people who inspire me most with their passion and love for the work they do and the people they care about. I’m thankful for my family and all the love they give, my friends from home who make time feel fast, my friends here who make time feel slow, and trips to Baskin Robbins with Cinnamon, Roxanne, and Macarena <3.”

Jack Miller: I’m thankful for far too many things. I’m thankful for my non-Heights friends who don’t care when I disappear for days on end to do “Big-J Journalism.” I’m thankful for my Heights family for putting people in my life who are both friends and role models. I’m thankful for hearing “Sweet Disposition” at 2 a.m. after every production. I’m thankful for the future Heights TV show that will bring us back together in 20 years. Roll credits.

Bradley Smart: I’m grateful for quite a few things, but first my family, as even through tough times we’ve only grown closer and the love I have for them isn’t quantifiable. I’m also thankful for my friends, the last two years in this office, the Interstellar soundtrack, continental breakfasts, and all the other random things that keep me going in this weird thing called life.

Kaylie Ramirez: I’m thankful for the crunch of a Rosenfeld’s bagel, the false sense of soundproofing in the Heights office, and the real satisfaction that came from doing this every Sunday for the past two years. For the people who have done this with me, I am most thankful of all.

Brooke Kaiserman: I’m thankful for my best friends and family, my roommates, Manhattan Beach, my dog Bolt, old movies, the Steelers, and milk chocolate. I’m thankful for BC and The Heights, which has been an integral part of my college experience. Specifically, I’m thankful for the members that comprise it (especially my Mag editors), who make spending 12 hours in Mac 113 every Sunday something to look forward to.

Colleen Martin: I’m thankful for people who always know what to say, people who pick me up at the airport, and people who get coffee for everyone. I’m thankful for campfires and early morning drives, my family, and my friends. And for the times I go to the office late at night and Abby is there, sitting at her desk. I’m thankful for the last two years and for one more.

Maddie Haddix: “I’m thankful for CoRo being conveniently located upstairs from the Heights office. I’m thankful for loving friends, family, and a wonderful boyfriend who at least attempts to understand why I’m never around on Sundays. I’m thankful for happiness and joy and for growth. And I’m so very very thankful for Bianca, Michaela, Hannah, Daniela, and bubble tea.”

Celine Lim: I am thankful for my loving family, my stunning friends, and the passionate people who create this newspaper. Also, I am thankful for photography, country and big band jazz music, light worthy of chasing, coffee, sushi, burgers, American highways and commercials, and tequila. Finally, I do a thank for pupper doggo memes.

Danny Flynn: I am thankful for my friends, whether I have met them in Cushing, in class, or in this newsroom. I am thankful for New England weather and indoor intramurals with my pals, watching soccer and watching my roommates play FIFA, nights on CoRo and nights in Boston or Providence, the oxford comma, and Zachariah. I’m most thankful for my family, whom I miss dearly, and those who love me. 

Emily Rosato: I’m thankful for my friends who are constantly making me laugh (from BC and at home), and my mom who is an accountant and also the only reason I’m passing financial accounting this semester. I’m thankful for Twitter and TikTok, the two apps that account for 70 percent of my screen time this month. Very cool. I’m also thankful that my midterms are finally over. 

Ikram Ali: I’m thankful for coffee (I swear I’m not addicted), sour patch kids, and milk chocolate candy. I’m also thankful for my roommates who make BC feel like home and will watch hours of TikTok with me. I’m thankful for my family (love ya) and all the love and support they give me 2,200 miles away. I’m thankful for photography and all sports and, of course, sports photography. I’m thankful for everyone on The Heights who encourages most of my bad decisions and have made the past year a whirlwind of fun and given me amazing lifelong friends.  

Allyson Mozeliak: I am thankful for being a Missourian and #blessed. I am so grateful for my family, dogs, Stephanie, and The Heights. Finally, I am thankful for the revival of Victorious and the vending machine in O’Neill that dropped two bags of peanut M&M’s when I only paid for one.

Amy Vanderschans: I am thankful for the people who bring me happiness, for the smiles through the hard moments, and the love I receive. I am thankful for afternoon naps, cuddles on the couch, sleepy time tea, and for all the little things that spark joy. To the people who inspire me and stick with me through the highs and lows, thank you. I am grateful for the family I find in this office, the family at home, and the people who surround me each and every day. 

Meegan Minahan: I’m thankful for my family and friends (obviously because I love them), but I am also thankful for the sunset at the Wellfleet Drive-in, the moon, playing cards with my grandpa, my grandma’s cooking, driving around my hometown with my best friends, my pets when they actually give me attention, good food, playing video games with my sister, choreographing dances with my cousins, making homemade ravioli with my family every Christmas, sweet tea and biscuits, The Heights (of course), and a reaaaaaaaallly good sleep.

Abby Hunt: I’m thankful for the wonderful group of editors who have made Sunday my favorite day of the week for the past two years. I’m thankful for “Build Me Up” by Rhymefest (feat. O.D.B.) and the way it sounds in the office at 11 p.m., when the world is getting smaller but production is still far from over. I’m thankful for my dear associate Colleen and our late-night debriefs. I’m thankful for the mice who hang out in the Heights office but—at least this year—not our home. And of course, I’m thankful for all of my family and friends back at actual home, to whom I owe everything. 

Owen Fahy: I’m thankful for Dustbowl questions, late-night newsletter sessions, receiving the articles I need to post after 11 p.m., and especially writing the events and briefs every week.

Peter Kim: I’m thankful for the people around me who inspire me and want me to succeed, for Seattle teriyaki, breakfast sandwiches, and banh mi. I’m also thankful for the weekly existential crises Bradley and I have in the sports corner, Emerson’s ability to tolerate said existential crises, and Mary’s SEO skills. But most importantly, I’m thankful for the incredibly fun family that The Heights is, and the three semesters of memories that I’ve made with that family.

Emily Himes: I’m thankful for the most magical few years of my life that seem to be coming to a close much too soon. I’m thankful for Starbucks peppermint hot chocolate, Heights volleyball games, and when the T goes express to Cleveland Circle. I’m thankful for all the old friends who stuck around and all the new ones who have graced my life since last year. I’m thankful for the ones who feel like family. And of course I’m thankful for my real family, too, because I wouldn’t be here without them. 

Jillian Ran: I’m thankful for the friends I feel like I’ve known forever, even though we only met last year. I’m thankful for mint chip ice cream, undiscovered music, and a good thunderstorm. I’m thankful for home and for Boston, which is beginning to feel like home too.

Timmy Facciola: I’m thankful for goat cheese, apple cider vinegar, and New Yorker tote bags. I’m thankful that the mice haven’t been in Mac 113 too recently, and that the health inspector found the mold in my apartment to be not deadly. I’m thankful for graduating on time, for the Jesuits, for late-night walks home in the wee hours of Monday, for imported pecorino, bowls of macaroni, and for loved ones with whom to share them.

Maeve Reilly: I’m thankful for my forced quad and my top bunk bed. I’m thankful for the people who have been by my side this semester, without fail. I’m thankful for my long-distance best friend—Chicago is so far :(. I’m thankful for my mom, she rocks. I’m thankful for TikTok. I’m thankful that the people of the board took a chance and picked me last year. I’m thankful for the newsroom and long Sundays that end at 2 a.m. I’m thankful for my co-editors. I’m thankful for that one time Mac tried to say volcano on their menu board but spelled it volcono. And yes, the rumors are true, I’m thankful for CoRo.

Isabel Fenoglio: I am thankful for my family and friends, for constantly reminding me not to take myself too seriously and to do what makes me happy.

Mary Wilkie: I have many things to be thankful for—too many, really, to list at once. This is certainly not exhaustive, but I think it gets the job done: tums; those unlucky people who suffer through my ceaseless complaints about heartburn and acid reflux; finding my ring on the porch weeks after I dropped it; Geraldine; people who laugh at my jokes; people who still want to be my friends even though I’m terrible at communicating; people who still want to come to my book club even though I keep canceling it; surviving that bus ride with the Ukranian mob; strangers who aren’t creepy; the rug I didn’t want that my dad forced me to buy because I like it very much now; the entire city of Chicago, but especially the fraction of it that I’m related to; The Heights, especially the parts that our readers don’t see; and, of course, ice cream.

Maggie DiPatri: I’m thankful for my family, my roommates, my friends who are far away and my friends who are nearby, 90 and 66, TikTok, intramurals, Kierkegaard, Star Wars, cookie dough, and when assets equal liabilities. I’m especially thankful when an event has good lighting for photographing, and when my computer doesn’t shut down while editing.

Éamon Laughlin: I’m thankful for the small moments that I will probably remember far longer than the full stories. I am thankful for a family that supports me, the people that encourage me, and the friends who remind me to look after myself from time to time. I am thankful for the last year on The Heights even though it feels like it just started a few weeks ago. I’m thankful for everyone comfortable enough to make fun of me when I deserve it, which is a lot, and those who accept it in return. 

Scott Baker: I’m thankful for my family and everything they do for me, beach bonfires looking over the ocean as the sun sets, destressing in the mountains as the sun rises, and long drives. I’m thankful for cats, for bagels and bad jokes, for racquetball, riddles, and red wine, and for the countless hours I’ve spent avoiding work in this office. Most of all, though, I’m thankful for my friends who support me, keep me grounded, and make all of these things so much better.

Izzy Cavazzoni: I’m thankful to have so many things to be thankful for. Here are a few of my favorites: my family, who loved me even when I had bangs and pink hair; my Sweet Caroline a thousand miles away; my beautiful, ambitious girlfriends who changed my life; the boys of 202; Rook coffee; late night Addie’s flatbreads; dance parties; vintage jeans; Cardi B; and brownie batter ice cream. Finally, I’m thankful to spend another year with such a talented group of people on The Heights. 

Stephanie Liu: I am thankful for the Oxford comma, Pokémon, red pens, Kiiroitori, Ariel, central heating, microblading, hair dye, spices, Uber, and the group of people at The Heights who work so hard to produce a great paper.

Madeleine Romance: I’m thankful for my family for always supporting me, for my friends for always making me laugh, and my dogs aka the lights of my life. I’m also thankful to have joined the board this year and all the people I’ve gotten closer to because of it. I’m also thankful for having no mice in Walsh (so far).

November 18, 2019