The holidays are upon us at long last, but for those of us in college, the holidays never fail to sneak up on us, at least for me anyway. No matter how diligently I follow the calendar or keep track of the onward march of time, I find myself caught unaware by the approach of the holiday season. Even when I finally realize the imminent approach of the holidays, it’s always with something of a diminished spirit for them. Perhaps it is simply the reality of being in college, you are here to study and learn, there’s no time to focus on having idle celebrations. No longer is there the relatively carefree days of childhood and early adolescence and abundant time to devote to getting the most out of the holidays. Living in the midst of a major city certainly does not help the matter either. In the city few houses externally decorate for the holidays due to lack of space and, what I assume is, lack of interest. Back home, the onrush of the holidays is preceded by a slew of home decorating for Halloween and then for Christmas. It never even occurred to me how critical these decorations were to developing the feeling of the holidays and how they helped to put one in a festive mood.

The lack of family also contributes to the delay in mustering holiday cheer. Growing up, my home was always decorated inside and out by my entire family. It was an important ritual of season necessary to make a proper celebration of the holidays. No longer being a participant in these affairs, but merely a spectator of the completed work, dims a part of the effect that gives the holidays their luster. Coincidentally, it’s also in these times that homesickness most creeps up on me. As a child, you take for granted spending time with loved ones over the holidays. Such a thing is obvious to a young mind, self-evident even. But as living on your own sets in, and time and distance separate you from the place you once called home, the small things that may have escaped your notice become points of sentimental touchstones and the most caring realizations of the passage of time hit you.

When I return home over the holiday break I take special care to appreciate what is going on around me and then bask in the atmosphere of home and the holidays. The feelings may be duller than when you were younger, but they are all the more precious because you finally have an awareness of their true value. I suppose this is simply a part of the process of getting older. The bonds between you and your family weaken so that new bonds can form when you start your own family.

College marks the transition point between your life defined by the impact of your parents and the impact of your own choices. The holidays are simply another area caught in this transition, the feelings attached to them simply make it more noticeable. Do not grieve over it, but rather embrace it and cherish all the opportunities you have to fully celebrate the holidays.