As I sat on Tuesday listening to “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Elvis Presley and drinking my pumpkin spice coffee, I realized I was a living contradiction. Pumpkin spice and Christmas music represent the complete opposite seasons: Fall and Winter. As mostly everyone knows, the debate over the right time to start listening to Christmas music has been going on for years. With some stores starting their Christmas commercials even before Halloween, it is definitely difficult to not want to get into the holiday spirit a little early.

On the Irish-Polish side of family, there has always been a huge border between the holiday seasons. Halloween must be celebrated between the September and October months (as usual with most families). Then, when it hits November 1^st, we are allowed to switch gears to Thanksgiving and nothing else. However, we are not allowed to eat pumpkin pie before November 22nd strictly because pumpkin pie equals Thanksgiving in my family’s eyes - God forbid we break this rule or else all Hell would break loose.Ultimately, thought of Christmas and Christmas music is basically a sin until the good ol' Thanksgiving holiday passes.

Well, you’re probably thinking right now, “Didn’t you just say you were listening to Christmas music?” Yes, indeed I did. Since I have come to college, I have realized that even though I am really not that far from home (an hour and a half on a good day), I have been really missing my “home life” a lot - the home cooked meals, my puppy, my friends, the lazy Friday nights spent watching Grey’s Anatomy from the DVR with my mom. One of my friends actually pointed out to me that it's getting to that point in the semester where “home” seems like a world away and a ton of nostalgia is starting to pop up - and she's absolutely right. Because of this, I have now converted into a person who listens to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. As freshmen in college, we are all thrown into a world of new friends, classes, surroundings, living styles, and responsibilities. This can get pretty overwhelming and stressful, so personally, I have figured out a way to help me deal with these emotions… Can you guess what it is? Yup, Christmas music. It’s almost impossible to be unhappy when listening to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” even if you have an exam and a 10-page paper due the next day. Even though it’s the beginning of November and still 65 degrees outside, I am now a proud "Christmas music in November" supporter. It helps me create my own little happy place inside my head at my new home-away-from-home (also known as college). So go ahead, all you stressed out college students - try it one time, even if you are a strong supporter of Christmas music after Thanksgiving. I guarantee you won’t regret it and you might even turn to the dark side like I have.