It’s that time of the year. The holidays! It’s my favorite time of the year because of the high spirits; how could you not love all the movies, music and cheer? And with the holiday season comes a lot of shopping, eating and stuffing your heart out.
As a resident shopaholic and retail worker, I can tell you one thing for sure: shopping is good for the soul. There’s nothing like buying a cute top or some really nice – and overpriced — pens for your notes and just being excited to put that bad boy into good use.
And as everybody feasts on Thanksgiving and their food babies settle in, it becomes Black Friday. Now, don’t get me wrong, Black Friday is great to get all the good deals and for adrenaline junkies like me, it gives you a really good rush. But there’s something about 50% off of an entire store that makes people lose their minds and makes you wonder where people’s sanity is going. You see people trample others to get in a store and you see people on television fighting over the last purple sweater on sale. It’s kind of crazy.
Working in retail, we get people all the time who are a grump regarding every aspect, whether it’s about how long the line is or that they can’t find their item. Many of them don’t realize that whatever it is that they’re upset about, it’s probably not due to the hands of the workers. Working in a store or in food service really builds patience in people because it certainly is not easy. Most of the time, if you treat the person with kindness, they will do whatever they can so that you are happy and try to help you out. The holidays are all about cheer, so be kind to your retail workers!
There’s been a huge trend lately to skip Thanksgiving dinner altogether and just go out on the hunt for deals, which is thrifty — but it’s still important to remember that the point of the holiday is to be thankful for what you have and the life you’re living. It’s becoming very normal for people to lose sight of that and just focus on the materialistic aspect of everything. There are many people out there who do not have much, so the little things they do have mean the world to them. It’s the perfect time to reach out to others and donate so that you can bring magic to other people as well. Some people are not as lucky, and there is nothing in the world than the feeling of making another person happy.
For as long as I can remember, this season has been about reflecting back on the year you just had and regardless of how things may seem, it’s always good to realize that you’re still here and things are going to work itself out. It’s always been a time of hope and love and just appreciating the people and things around you — and I can’t wait to see how this season turns out.