When the autumn leaves have all fallen, and the crisp December air rolls around, the Christmas carols come out, and the lights go up. To most people, it's a magical, marvelous time. Some people wait all year for the opportunity to put on ugly sweaters and drink cocoa while watching Christmas movies on tv.

However, that is not me. I dread the time when the autumn leaves stop falling, and the department stores deck the halls. I find Christmas music to be mostly dull and uninteresting, and very few Christmas movies are entertaining to me.

The holiday season brings about no feelings of immense joy, just an overwhelming feeling of stress and guilt for all the times I am working instead of with family. Instead of being a time of celebration, the whole ordeal just seemed like a hassle that required all of January to recover from.

Maybe it's because my parents were separated by the time I was born, so I've always lived with doing so many separate Christmases, but the holiday just tires me out. Maybe I was just born a Grinch. But the holiday doesn't bring me the joy it brings to others, and that doesn't make me a horrible person.

So I don't like Christmas, so what? I still celebrate the day with my family and my friends, it just isn't my favorite time of the year. No one says you HAVE to like the holidays you celebrate.

The important thing is that I still put on a good attitude, and make time for the people in my life who matter. So yes, Christmas will never be something I look forward to celebrating, but I still will continue to hang decorations with my family and watch the many movies on Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas.

So yes, I hate how Christmas is shoved down my throat from the day after Halloween until well into January, and I hate how I'm made to feel guilty for working instead of going to one of a hundred Christmas parties, but mostly I hate how family is turned into an obligation. Family is supposed to make you happy year round, so why do we only focus on it from December 1st to December 25th?