I am writing to you today from an extremely remote, magical place, a place so far removed from the ordinary: my home! Yes, I have been home from school for about two weeks now, and I have been enjoying every single second! Final exams went well, and the reward was even better: finally being able to go home and enjoy the holidays with my family with absolutely zero interruptions.
As soon as I came home, it felt like time stepped on the accelerator, and we were moving through the days at one hundred miles per hour. Soon, it was Christmas Eve, a day that always makes me remember being 6 or 7 years old, filled with excitement as I waited for Santa to come and leave a sea of toys for me and my brother. I remember trying to fall asleep, with my eyes springing open every few hours to see what time it was, and how many more hours I had to wait until it was a decent enough time to wake up my parents and go downstairs to the Christmas tree. Once morning finally came and my family had woken up, it was time to make the trip downstairs together. And there was the most beautiful sight: a glowing Christmas tree with presents abounding from underneath the tree. Then, we all gathered around the tree, either on the floor or on the couches, opened our presents, and everyone was truly happy.
In remembering my childhood memories of Christmas Eve and Christmas, I saw how Christmas Eve is (for me, at least) related to coming home from college for Christmas. I felt like that little 6 year old girl again the night before I could come home for Christmas: excited, anxiously checking the clock every few hours during the night to see if it was time to wake up, take my last few exams, and eventually go home. Seeing my dad's car pull into the parking lot from my window was like seeing Santa's sleigh and his 8 reindeer land on your roof right before your eyes; it was the most exciting thing to me! And then we came to our last turn before we pulled into our driveway. This moment, for me, was like waiting for my family to come to the top of the stairs so we could all walk down to our family room and Christmas tree together; I wanted so badly to just open the car door and run up the driveway into my mom's arms that were waiting there to hug me.
Christmas, in the middle of college life, has been redefined for me. It is no longer about how many presents I get, if I like my presents, etc. Now, it is all about my family. It about taking the time as we are unwrapping our presents to look around and see the pure joy of the day written across my family's faces. It's about giving them hugs at random moments throughout the day, because that is something I cannot do from my dorm room. It's about sitting around the dinner table, sharing a good meal with my family, and capturing that moment in time with my mind's eye, realizing that we will never our respective ages again, and realizing just how much I love my mom, my dad, and my brother (and yes, my dog too). My family is the best gift, not just of the Christmas season, but the best gift of my life.
And now I find myself a week later, on the eve of a new year. This again is a day of reflection, not just for me, but for everyone around the world. It's a day of hope, of excited anticipation for the coming year and for all of the things the new year will bring with it. Every year on New Year's Eve, I hope and I pray that the coming year will treat me well, and that I will do and experience all sorts of new and exciting things. But this year, I realize that I cannot just pray to be 'blessed' with these things; I have to make these experiences for myself. So I say to you, dear readers, remember that you have the power to make your new year's resolutions come to fruition; it is in your hands, so do with it what you will. And remember to have fun along the way.
I wish you all nothing but the utmost love, happiness, and success in the new year. And as always, thank you for sticking with me on my journey through college- you have no idea what it means to me.
Happy New Year!
-That Reflecting University Girl
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