Crazy Black Friday advertisements, looks of anxiety and desperation around campus and the fact that my sister just answered her phone with, “Buddy the elf, what’s you favorite color?” tells me it’s that time of year: Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Watching the Macy’s Parade and eating myself into a coma is something I look forward to all year round. This year is more joyful than most, because I have something really special to be thankful for. We all do. We’ve made it to senior year, and soon we’ll be alumni. It may not seem like it when you’re pulling back-to-back all nighters, but trust me; Senior year is something to be thankful for.

I’m also thankful for my loved ones. If it wasn’t for my friends and family, I would be in a dark corner somewhere rocking back and forth. They have kept me sane.

Third on my list of thanks is Google. What’s that you say? Google? Yes, Google. If an hour has passed and I haven’t checked my Gmail, my calendar, or shared a document, then I’m asleep or in Azkaban Prison. It has made my life and getting to senior year easier.

If you’re a student, using Google is absolutely necessary, and not just for searching or looking at aerial images of your house. There are many reasons why a Google account is something every senior must have. It’s not only essential for school, but for your career afterwards.

First is Gmail. Gmail is smart, organized and practically spam-free. I was hesitant to leave UMail at first, but managing messages from multiple accounts was confusing to say the least. Eventually, I made the leap. I created my Gmail account, forwarded all my UMail messages and never looked back. Switching was easy; in Gmail you can import messages and contacts from multiple email addresses, so nothing gets lost.

If you are like me and have reservations about sending emails to professors without the preferred @student.umass.edu address, don’t worry. Gmail also allows you to send mail from your different email addresses. Once you import your UMail account, that address will be available in the “From” box when composing messages. You can even make it your default. Imagine that: Complete email freedom, right at your finger tips!

Another Gmail perk is the ease of managing contacts. After you have used an email address in the “To” box multiple times, that address will automatically be added to your contacts. Later, when you use it again, all you have to do is start typing, and Gmail will enter it for you.

With my Gmail inbox, I never forget to reply to an email or have to search for hours to find a message. That’s the beauty of “labels.” Each message can have its own label, and each label can have its own color. My email home page looks like a Christmas tree. I have purple labels for UMass messages, orange labels for my personal messages, and red labels for any message which needs a reply ASAP. There are more colors to choose from than we have names for. When looking for old messages you just go to that group of labels, instead of searching through every email you’ve ever gotten.

It also helps if you do a lot of online shopping or have accounts with multiple websites. Every time I receive a confirmation email with a password or a receipt for a recent purchase, I label it. Later, if there is a problem with my purchase or I forget my YouTube password, I can easily find the message.            Gmail is also very good with filtering spam from your inbox. Unlike the Yahoo account I used to have, Gmail rarely allows spam through or mistakes messages I want for spam.

For those of you still writing in your UMass daily planner or on a dry erase board, step into the future. You might as well be carving your class schedule onto a cave wall. Google calendar makes keeping track of classes, events, and tasks as easy as updating your Facebook status. On the home screen, you can view the entire year, month, week or day. You can also have multiple calendars with different names and colors.

A week in my Google calendar has purple boxes with classes, green boxes with my work schedule, or orange boxes for personal events. I can easily see which events overlap or where I have gaps, indicating rare and valuable free time.

You can also share calendars with other Google users. So, you and your friends can create a spring break calendar, which everyone can view, print out, and change. Also, make use of the “tasks” feature. Each task you add can have a deadline, a note and a checkmark when completed.

Adding events to your calendar is easy. You can make it reoccurring, set a reminder and invite other users. You can even edit your calendar from your phone by texting the details to “GVENT.” I can’t tell you how many times a text message reminder has saved me from certain doom.

Are you a student who is constantly emailing yourself stuff? Well, kiss those confusing days goodbye and embrace the moist lips of the future!. In Google docs you can create slideshow presentations, Word documents, Xcel spreadsheets, and drawing documents, and you can view, edit and print a document from anywhere. Different folders, labels, and you guessed it, colors for docs make organization easier than learning to read!

But the one feature I love the most is sharing because, lets face it, who doesn’t get a tingly feeling in their loins when they share? You can share any Google document with other users and vice versa. You don’t even have to meet face-to-face for group projects anymore. You can literally sit at your computer on Gmail and replicate your former interpersonal interactions; they even have avatars. You may never need to see another human face again. Everyone can see the changes made, edit, and upload to their computers.

I know Google isn’t anything new, but it is so much more powerful than you think… than we all think. With Google apps available for almost every phone, syncing with Apple and Microsoft machines is a synch. In fact, I got the job I have now mostly because of my knowledge of Google docs. And if academics or work aren’t a priority, you can at least use your knowledge of Google to impress your friends and family.

Naychelle Lucas is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].