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Christmas In Illinois

A holiday a love, in a place I call home.

Jess Lister

Dec 26, 2016

Illinois College

Fine Art America

I have lived in Illinois my entire life. I've never been anywhere other than my home on Christmas, so I don't know any different than an Illinois Christmas. But honestly, that's okay.

To me, Christmas in Illinois means family. It means a warm fire and waking up at 5 am to sneak downstairs and look in my stocking. It means helping my mom decorate the Christmas tree with carols playing in the background. Christmas in Illinois means being surrounded by love and happiness, and being able to smile and laugh and play. It means seeing my grandma, and usually getting a pie "for the family" (we all know my sister and I are going to eat the whole thing). It means making the hot cocoa that was in my stocking and curling up and watching White Christmas in the living room.

It's Illinois, and sometimes that means being bored out of my mind. Sometimes it means ridiculously unpredictable weather, and bringing a jacket in the morning and changing into shorts by 3. Sometimes it means driving for an hour and not seeing anything out the window except for corn fields and livestock.

It's Christmas in Illinois. The corn is dead and the trees are barren. I'm snuggled up in a blanket watching another Freeform Christmas movie. It's Christmas in Illinois and I'm sneaking downstairs to peek at the stocking- there's even one for the dogs. It's Christmas in Illinois, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

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Christmas In Illinois

A holiday a love, in a place I call home.

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4. Sherlock and Woodstock

5. Spaghetti and a Yeti

6. Whale and snail

7. Ladder and Bladder

8. Rake and Snake

9. Jam and Ham

10. Pig and a Twig

11. Banana and Nana

12. Dairy and Fairy

13. Hibachi and Versace

14. Trash bag and American Flag

15. Gumball Machine and American Dream

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A long over due thank you note to my greatest passion.

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1. "Big Pimpin'" - Jay-Z ft. UGK

2. "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers

3. "Lose Yourself" - Eminem

4. "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) - Toby Keith

5. "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell Williams

6. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day

7. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" - Panic! At The Disco

8. "Semi-Charmed Life" - Third Eye Blind

9. "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix A Lot

10. "Get Low" - Lil Jon ft. Ying Yang Twinz

11. "Check Yes Or No" - George Strait

12. "Ride Wit Me" - Nelly

13. "Pony" - Ginuwine

14. "Cleanin' Out My Closet" - Eminem

15. "Gangstas Paradise" - Coolio

16. "It Was A Good Day" - Ice Cube

17. "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris

18. "Everybody (Backstreets Back)" - Backstreet Boys

19. "Misery Business" - Paramore

20. "Steal My Sunshine" - Len

21. "Fly" - Sugar Ray

22. "Song 2" - Blur

23. "Buddy Holly" - Weezer

24. "No Rain" - Blind Melon

25. "99 Problems" - Jay-Z

Appreciation for some of life's most discredited pleasures.

1. Sun showers

2. Smiles

3. Tight hugs

4. Discovering new foods you like.

5. Laying in bed after a long day.

6. And being completely relaxed

7. "This reminded me of you"

8. Breakfast foods

9. Over-sized clothes

10. Contagious laughs

11. Car rides with that one person

12. Random (I miss you/ I love you) texts

13. The city at night

14. Surprises

15. Blanket cocoons

16. Good hair days

17. Really good coffee

18. Days where you're in a good mood naturally and for no particular reason

19. Conquering a fear

20. When they give you a lot of guac at Chipotle

21. Being so comfortable with someone that you can literally talk about anything

22. Home-cooked meals

23. Tattoo stories

24. Leaves changing color in fall

25. Butterflies in your stomach

26. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches

27. When you can't stop laughing

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