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Let me start off by telling you all how excited I am for Christmas! I love everything about the holidays, especially because everyone seems to enjoy life a little more when it’s this time of year. But I always get a little stir crazy with buying gifts and mentally preparing myself for all the food I’ll be eating in the next few weeks. As much as I love the holidays, they can also be the toughest part of the year for many of us. It’s hard to pump your siblings up for Santa and gingerbread cookies when you’re constantly worrying about how many calories are in said cookie. We’ve all been there.
The holidays mean that you can come home, slap on an apron and bake with grandma. They also mean that you can come home, slap on an apron and listen to grandma tell you that maybe you shouldn’t eat all those baked goods. At some point during dinner, someone is bound to ask you what you plan to do with your degree. Of course, I would be lying to you if I said that hearing these things didn’t kill the Christmas spirit a little. It’s always frustrating trying to explain to my family for the millionth time what exactly I want to do after college, especially since I’m not even quite sure myself. I also remember being 15 and feeling so self conscious next to my taller and skinnier little sister that I would decide I didn’t need that mug of hot chocolate. Watching what I ate the other 364 days a year was exhausting enough, but when Christmas came around I was almost scared to give myself a break. There have been so many Christmases when I would watch everyone else eat pie, ice cream and cake instead of eating any myself, because I refused to be made fun of by my cousins or listen to my aunt tell my mom that I needed to start watching what I ate.
My whole family is rarely ever under one roof, and each time they are, it seems as though my flaws are the focus. Next to my family friends, who were graduating from college with internships and jobs, my twice-changed major and overall uncertainty made me feel inadequate. It never occurred to me that I didn’t have to please everyone. Each person is different in the way they approach life, and we should never compare our first steps to the second or thirds steps of others. I might eat one cookie too many, and I also have absolutely no idea where the future is going to take me. But isn’t that the point? Life is more enjoyable because sometimes we deserve an extra cookie, and a big part of it is solving your problems along the way. I have yet to meet someone who has their entire life on track, and even the most accomplished people I know are not sure of themselves. When we are confident, what other people think of our progress matters less, and this is the way it should be.
We appreciate our families for being brutally honest with us. I can trust that my mom will tell me if the pink skirt I bought last week makes me look like a flamingo. On that note, we should also feel comfortable being honest back and letting them know when something digs a little too deep. Even more so, we should understand that others’ opinions of us, whether it be on our life choices or our appearance, should never hold center court.
The holidays are about enjoying ourselves and the company of our loved ones, and I promise your break will be that much better once you stop worrying about the criticisms that may come your way. It is okay to be unsure, and it is okay to be insecure. However, we should never allow these thoughts to consume us. So collegiettes, help yourselves to dessert, keep up the good work and happy holidays, from me to all of you.
Photo credit: www.hearnkirkwood.com