Ahhh, Christmas.

The one day out of the entire year when most people are the happiest they've ever been. The holiday that just makes everyone feel so in love with the joy it has to offer.

Throughout my childhood, I grew up knowing Christmas was for gift giving. I mean the joy of waking up and running downstairs to a tree filled with neatly wrapped gifts underneath can't be compared. As the Christmas season is right around the corner, I couldn't help but think about what I should get my loved ones for the holiday. The list of gifts for my friends and family is never ending! However, I thought about those who aren't able to get gifts for Christmas every year.

I recently came upon a website called Operation Christmas Child, which sends shoeboxes full of gifts for children across the world. When I first heard about Operation Christmas Child, I thought about how selfish I was for only thinking about gifts for myself and not for children who are not as fortunate to get Christmas gifts. These children struggle to drink clean water and eat nutritious food every day. In America, we are so oblivious to the struggles that children in third world countries undergo daily. If we don't get wifi, we get upset. If we didn't eat in two hours, we get hangry. We get upset and annoyed over simple things and let it ruin our day.

How do you think those children go through their daily life knowing that they may not be able to get their hands on clean water or food that day? The least we can do is give them some degree of happiness. If not through Operation Christmas Child, I encourage you to help these kids in some way or another. Unicef put up a petition for children's' rights that they will send to world leaders. Helping these children in any way at all will go a long way.

But why should Christmas be the only reason why you should send gifts to them? We should be helping to bring a smile to these children throughout the year! They should know that even though they may be going through a lot daily, they have people who support them and care for them even across the world. So when you see your family and loved ones this holiday season, please remember the children around the world who would love to know that you are thinking about them.