By By Sophie Strawser, Staff Writer

Our dearest holiday, Halloween, has passed, leaving us with only Thanksgiving to look forward to. With that said, do try to concentrate fully on your studies for these next three weeks. Push through the midterm studying, the test taking, and the, “Crap, I got an (insert grade that would make your mom cry),” post-test taking weeping. Once you reach Thanksgiving you can do what every American does to relieve stress: eat. It’s a whole four days that give you the opportunity to visit family, eat, catch up with friends, eat, sleep and, of course, eat.

 Speaking of eating, let’s discuss the convenience of having a café in the library. Very convenient, is the first thought. Coffee to keep me up and a muffin to keep me fat. The convenience continues until you reach one of the quiet floors. You don’t think of the problem that is about to arise until you begin to pull out your chair. The normal skidding sound of your chair sounds like a subway car tearing down the tracks. People stare and a woman points to the quiet sign.

Next you sit down your bag, the equivalent to the sound of a crowd of people walking up a stairwell. After lowering yourself into the chair, you not only begin to pile your books onto the space in front of you, but you are also opening the bag containing your muffin. Although every part of your body is extremely tense, attempting to make as little sound as possible, the last succession of actions send so much sound echoing through the library that you might as well be a one-man band that plays for money in the subway corridors. Might as well set out a bucket for tips. I’d give you a dollar.

Don’t be purposely loud when on the quiet floors. At the same time, sitting there filling an hour of your studying time with your failed attempt to transport your muffin out of the bag without touching it is a bit insane.

Although you can’t do this in the library, do occasionally call your mother. We can all act tough and say we aren’t going to call home, but let’s face it: where we are from and the friends and family from our hometowns shaped us into the people we are today. It won’t kill you to have a half-an-hour conversation with your parents. If you don’t call them they will just stalk you on Facebook. Tick tock—your dearest mother and father are waiting.

So let’s push through it, Hofstra. The countdown to Thanksgiving break begins now.