What I’m thankful for: Super Smash Bros. and name calling

With Thanksgiving break approaching quickly, I’m excited to get back home to see family, old friends and relax after a busy fall semester at UD. 

However, one thing I am going to miss while I’m back home is our loud house on Kiefaber. Late at night, my roommates and I gather around the TV to play our favorite video game together: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It gets quite rowdy when we’re all together. 

It’s our go-to way to unwind after a long day, which may be counterintuitive since it usually ends with name-calling, yelling and someone throwing their hands up and saying, “I’m done.”

In the 30 or so minutes we play each night, it feels like nothing else matters but winning and making fun of each other. School, work, graduation … everything just takes a backseat as I try to get Steve from Minecraft to successfully throw Incineroar from Pokemon off the stage so that I can gloat to my roommate and prove myself better than him. 

In my house of six people, I’m probably the third or fourth best player, with my direct roommate Luke being the best. Whenever I beat him, it gives me satisfaction for at least a day or two, and I mock him until he inevitably challenges me to a rematch and I lose.

During these upcoming breaks, I’m going to get a taste of what life without my roommates and Super Smash Bros. is going to be like after graduation. I’m going to miss the name-calling, the teasing and the debates on who is actually good at the game and who just spams different attacks.

This Thanksgiving, I’ll be thankful for the usual things like family and friends, but especially for one group of friends: my roommates from Kiefaber and the children’s game we take far too seriously.