It’s the first week of December and the chestnuts are already roasting. The holiday lights can’t go up fast enough after Thanksgiving. 25 Days of Christmas has already kicked off on Freeform and holiday colors cover the walls and ceilings of your favorite mall. Your Pinterest is probably flooded with decorations and weird egg nog related recipes and we can’t forget about the rise of extravagant gingerbread houses. The holidays are a beautiful time of the year characterized by the jolly and holly in the air, but not every moment is filled with joy. In all the wonderful moments there are a few that strive to turn us into a Grinch.
- Finals:
Thanks to college, we’re all forced to go through excruciating stress and pain before we’re allowed to enjoy the holidays. Finals are the last cruel gift our professors give us in an effort to steal our jolly before it starts. The best thing to do is to remember you can curl up with hot chocolate and your favorite holiday movie when it’s all over.
2. Holiday Shopping
It seems like after Black Friday going to the mall turns into a hectic experience. If it’s not the constant deals and advertisements being thrown at you, it’s the hassle of moving through crowds of people to get to your destination. Not to mention that holiday shopping seems to be the main thing that brings out the ugly in people. If you’ve ever worked retail you know that most customers are anything, but jolly during this time of year. We’ve seen the videos of moms fighting over Xboxes on Black Friday, but the tension gets thicker as Christmas Day gets closer.
3. Being bored in your childhood home
If you haven’t officially got your own place in your college town, you’ll most likely be heading home for the holidays. The first week is usually filled with seeing your old friends and getting extra love from your family, but after two weeks you start to miss your college freedom. The fam may not be so cool with you going out anytime you want or that cursing habit you’ve picked up. Eventually, you’ll start to miss the agony of Denton construction and the convenience of Crooked Crust.
4. The Never-ending Questions
When you’re in college your life somehow becomes 10 times more interesting to your family and friends from home. All of a sudden everyone cares about your love life and how well you’re eating on a college budget. Even when you try to forget about that D you got this semester, there’s always one family member that will bring it up. Your college life is now the hot topic of holiday dinners and all you can do is smile and pass the salt.
5. Traveling
Whether you’re driving, taking the bus, or flying home there’s a 75% chance you’ll be confronted with holiday travel agony. There’s traffic, canceled flights, and awkward bus rides trying to chip away at your holiday joy. No matter how hard the commute home may be, the memories made when you get there are worth it.
6. Missing Someone You Love
The holidays are a time to celebrate and enjoy the people in your life. That gets a lot harder when you’ve lost someone in your life before the holidays. Grief and mourning don’t go away just because the holidays are rolling around. That empty seat at the table or missing phone call can really take a toll on your holiday spirit. During this time It’s important to remember that everyone deals with grief in their own way.
Although you may not be looking forward to these aspects of the holidays, this is still a beautiful time of year. Take some time to spread love and watch how it radiates in your own holiday experience.