The Strange Three Weeks Between Halloween and Thanksgiving

Another Halloweekend (or two) has come and gone, and Harvard students find themselves once again in that peculiar limbo between spooky season and holiday festivities. It’s a three-week stretch that defies categorization, leaving us all wondering: What exactly are we supposed to do with ourselves now?

For freshmen, this period can feel less like a mere transition and more like an existential crisis. November at Harvard is when you learn the true meaning of academic resilience, a.k.a. trying to convince yourself that two midterms per class was the plan all along.

The social scene during these three weeks is like a strange afterparty where everyone’s too tired to dance but nobody wants to go home. Plans get floated —“Should we go out tonight?”—and then, just as quickly, shot down: “Nah, I have an exam.”

The weather doesn’t help either. It’s cold enough to regret not bringing a jacket but not quite cold enough to justify wearing that Canada Goose parka you bought “for the Boston winters.” Not to mention the ups and downs of the temperature lately that is certainly reminiscent of my pset grades.

And just when we think we’ve settled into this strange routine, Daylight Saving Time ends. Suddenly, it’s dark by 5 p.m., and our internal clocks are left in disarray. While the extra hour of sleep is nice, it comes at the cost of feeling like you’re living in perpetual darkness. I’m already exhausted walking out of section, so the dark certainly isn’t keeping me from jumping into bed right when I get back to my dorm.

While these three weeks can feel like a transitional period — or maybe just a fever dream — in reality, they make up the bulk of the rest of the semester. Coming back from Thanksgiving break, there are only three (!!) days of class left before reading period begins. So, while it can be easy to disregard this time, use it to enter your academic weapon era: go to those office hours you’ve been meaning to attend all semester, start your pset early, and actually absorb your assigned readings. It’s never too late to become the perfect Harvard student.

Whether you’re a freshman still figuring out the ropes or a senior soaking in your last fall at Harvard, embrace these next few weeks. Let the early sunsets fuel your late-night study sessions, with the promise of Harvard-Yale and Thanksgiving break as motivation to keep you pushing forward.