By Kristen MisakSpecial to the Chronicle

It’s almost Thanksgiving, which for many students means visiting home for the first time this year. Plenty of students are considering skipping classes next week in order to have more time at home, even though Hofstra was generous enough to cancel classes on the Wednesday before the holiday, which isn’t usually the case.

The week of Thanksgiving, there are only two days of classes, and Monday follows a Friday schedule while Tuesday follows a Thursday schedule. Most students already don’t take Friday classes, so sticking around campus for just one day of class does not sound so appealing.

Why not skip class those two extra days? If you can afford it and your grade won’t suffer from it, you can go home this Friday and turn your five-day Thanksgiving break into a nine-day break from school.

The extra time at home could be well worth it, especially if it’s been a while since you have seen and spent time with your family. With the end of the semester coming up so quickly, spending a little more time at home could be a great way to de-stress before finals. Good food and family might be all you need to recharge and prepare for that last month of the semester.

You could even use the time at home to get a head start on studying for finals, or catch up on assignments and projects from the comfort of your own home. There might be a few less distractions, so it could be easier to complete schoolwork at home.

Another added benefit of going home early: beating the holiday rush, seeing as the worst of it is bound to be on Wednesday and Thursday. For those of us who live outside of Long Island, getting on and off the island can be a chore and a half. Nobody wants to be stuck in traffic, especially not standstill Long Island traffic, when you’re dying to get home for the holiday. The idea of avoiding those extra hours in the car can be just tempting enough to persuade a good number of Hofstra students to leave for home early.

With the timing of Jewish holidays and Thanksgiving this year, Hofstra students were stuck in school for over two months without a break. Leaving early is almost justified since we never got the fall break that most other colleges had this year. Haven’t we worked hard enough this semester that we deserve to skip out for Thanksgiving just a little bit early?

Whatever you decide to do this Thanksgiving break, even if you can’t go home at all, make sure to give thanks, surround yourself with happiness and above all, eat a lot!