Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together, play games, watch sports, and feast on a big meal. Families around America tend to differ in food choices and have lately been drifting away from the usual turkey choice for the main course. 

South Lyon East students and teachers are no exception to this new wave of Thanksgiving food and are pretty diverse when it comes to what they eat. 

Junior Dante DeGrazia, said, “Thanksgiving means a lot to us, it’s all about family coming together. We make a big turkey dinner and eat up.” 

DeGrazia admitted, “Truthfully I’m not a big turkey guy so I only eat it on Thanksgiving. There aren’t any good cooks in the family,  so I’ve gotten through it since I was born.” 

DeGrazia then proceeded to express his hatred towards Thanksgiving food even further, “I am not a big thanksgiving food guy, I do not look forward to Thanksgiving dinner, that food is just not my cup of tea. I’m just not a big fan of it to be honest with you. If it were me, I would make some hot dogs, some hamburgers, and make it like a 4th of July meal rather than some Thanksgiving garbage.” 

There were a lot more uncommon answers that mostly related back to the origin and ethnic background of each person. 

Blake Dattolo, Sophomore, stated, “I’ve been eating lasagna as my main course for as long as I can remember, my Grandma makes the biggest, fluffiest lasagna you could ever imagine once a year.”

He then proceeded to describe it intensely, “ It’s lovely, delicious, and amazing!”

Dattolo also spoke highly of their family’s dessert, “There is also this pretzel Jello that is the perfect amount of sweet and sour that my mom seems to make better year after year.”

He expressed his heritage, “Thanksgiving dinner really shows the Italian in my family as we obviously make something different from the rest” 

It turns out that lasagna for Thanksgiving is not as uncommon as you would think!

Gym teacher Mrs. Duncan said,  “I married into the Italian tradition, and have been enjoying lasagna now for 7 years, and honestly, I enjoy it way more than the common Thanksgiving food.” 

Duncan laughed, “ My mom makes this cranberry Jello and it is actually disgusting! That is one of the foods that just looking at it makes me wanna puke.”

She continued, “It sort of tastes like the 80’s, because it looks like something out of the 80’s, chunky, fluffy and nasty.”

Duncan finished, “Brussel sprouts have grown on me over time because we fry them now instead of boiling them and it adds a lot more texture and flavor to it.” 

There were still a mixture of the common favorites but some of the original foods that most people eat were hated among students. 

Junior Jordan Atkins had a lot to say about Thanksgiving, “ My family loves to get together and enjoy a good meal, while watching the Lions play.”

He continued, “There is this mac and cheese that we eat once a year and I cannot even explain to you how amazing it is. It’s a nice hard layer on top but once you break it, it is so creamy and flavorful.” 

Atkins got serious, “I do not mess with the staples of Thanksgiving. Stuffing, turkey, and ham are better off in the garbage in my opinion.”

He continued, “I try it every year, and I swear to you my family tries to make it just as bad as the year prior.”

Atkins finished describing his ideal plate, “Every year on Thanksgiving you will find mac and cheese plus some good old mashed potatoes and gravy; nothing else is necessary for a good meal.” 

Although there are a lot of student and staff preferences that differ from the Thanksgiving classics, there are still plenty that don’t. 

Junior Chase Adams said, “Thanksgiving is a time for families to be together and enjoy the best meal of the year.”

He continued, “My family loves the usual food, we cannot miss out on the ham, stuffing, and of course the turkey.”

Adams literally mixes his plate, “There is nothing else even close to eating the food all at once, if you eat it together it’s like, togetherness, and there is no other way to explain it.”

He shared, “The two real heroes at Thanksgiving dinner are the ham and the corn bread though, my dad cooks the ham throughout the day and the cornbread is brought by my Grandma.”

Junior Carter Temple said, “Once a year you will find my family all together on Thanksgiving. That is why this is my favorite holiday; one big meet up where we watch the Lions and are thankful for each other.” 

Temple continued, “My favorite food that blows the rest out of the water has got to be blueberry pie. It is really rich and has an amazing flavor.”

He surprisingly said, “Although that is my favorite meal of the day, it actually used to be the meal I would almost puke at just by looking at it.”

Temple admitted, “ I honestly had not given it a chance for like 5 years but once I bit into it, I fell in love with the blueberries in it and it caused my taste buds to enjoy life on a whole new level. Every year I’ve just got to have a slice of blueberry pie on my plate along with a nice little bowl of pretzel salad.”

South Lyon East families tend to have one thing in common, they get together and are thankful for each other. No matter what food is on the table, there is a guarantee you will be with someone you love and are thankful for having a great time.