Christmas brings many things: twinkling lights, perky music and shopping mall congestion. It also brings the chance to be a child again. As college students, we are not as far away from those idyllic days of Power Rangers and ponies as our parents, but we can still apply the lessons to ourselves. Like our parents, we are worn out and stressed out, and we are just looking for someone to cut us a little slack sometimes.
Christmas is that sometime.
Approaching December as 25 days of never-ending joy is unrealistic, but I do think exploring our childhoods on Christmas is something we need.
Erma Bombeck said, “There’s nothing sadder in this world than to wake Christmas morning and not be a child.”
Nearly every movie and advertisement tries to capture the raw emotions children feel at Christmas and tries to instill in adults the nostalgia for losing those emotions. Bombeck is right. When we lose the child in us at Christmas, we lose something essential to us.
Try to remember how you felt during Christmas back when you wrote a list for Santa and set out cookies to give the big man a little extra incentive. I know I felt like all I needed was Christmas.
During the week leading up to it, I forgot about that gnarly science fair project awaiting me when school started again. It did not matter to me that I did not like my teacher very much or that I was arguing with a friend.
It was because Christmas was coming.
I wanted to watch the parade on TV, and I wanted to sit on Santa’s lap. This year I am asking you to wake up on Christmas morning and forget the things you’re worried about. Don’t be angry. Don’t be the family killjoy. Take the opportunity to remember what life was like before we had papers, projects, internships and job interviews. Don’t think about interterm lurking ahead of you, and don’t worry about what you’re going to do with your life.
Use this Christmas as a chance to create new memories to make you smile through the next round of all-nighters and finals. Don’t waste the chance to slip away from your worries and don the joy and excitement of the child you once were.