Dear Mom and Dad,

I feel it is necessary, under the given circumstances, that I apologize to you for what transpired last week.

I am incredibly remorseful for not being able to spend more time with you. I am sorry I found myself locked up in a room for endless hours. I am sorry that you spent hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket for me so I could go to Ohio only to stare quiescently at a computer screen instead of spending quality time with you.

You see, it was difficult to participate in family activities due to an annoyance – the excessive amounts of homework and project work that is normally assigned over Thanksgiving Break. That may explain why, for one of the few instances in a year that I get to be with my family, I have to spend all of my waking hours doing homework (when I wasn’t eating your delicious Thanksgiving dinner, of course) and I still feel as if I accomplished nothing.

But I can’t blame my instructors for this. After all, I am a college student – and college students should have to work. And it’s not like I don’t have enough time; they give me weeks to do projects. However, I think even they would be rather astonished to know there is a simple solution to my discontent that would ensure I still accomplish all of my tasks and yet still be able to have a meaningful Turkey Day with you.

Thanksgiving Break falls way too late in the semester. With 16 weeks in a semester, Thanksgiving occurs right in the middle of the haste that is the last few weeks of the semester – which in reality gives us a mere two weeks to finish projects (I mean, come on – who does these things before Thanksgiving?).

So what I don’t understand is how they don’t just combine Thanksgiving Break with the semester break. It would be easy. Start the semester earlier and end the fall semester before Thanksgiving.

That would then combine the unnecessarily close breaks, shortening the summer by two weeks – which would be hell for those taking summer classes, but we’ll cope. Then they could give about six to seven weeks for a semester break.

No obligations, no worries, just quality time with you guys, playing Monopoly or whatever it is you did all last week while I was taking my Thanksgiving Break with a hermit-like approach as I sat up in my room with my books and computer.

Because wouldn’t it be grand if I could actually spend a worry-free minute with you, my wonderful family, without having to budget time for my school work? How much is it to ask for a Thanksgiving when I would not have to keep a textbook next to me at the table? It may sound outrageous, but I actually enjoy conversing with you.

Then, instead of having a Thanksgiving when I have to be locked up in my room writing lab reports on free convection, I could spend it sitting on a couch with you drinking wine and discussing politics, religion or whatever is on your mind.

Because God forbid I spend Thanksgiving with those whom I am actually thankful for.

Love always,

Andy

&#8212 Andrew Gionnette is a senior in mechanical engineering from Chanhassen, Minn.