Alright, you made it. One holiday down, and the biggest and "bestest" one to go. I know you want to be excited about Christmas and New Years coming, but how many of you are still recovering from traumatizing extended-family conversations that resulted in a poopy diaper you had that they can’t forget or they follow you on Facebook and they ask about an ex they saw in some photos awhile back? Then there are the-specific-to-young adults questions that we know are going to hit us hard when you’re left in the living room with that one socially awkward aunt…
“So what do you plan on doing with your life after college?”
“Any significant other in your life?”
“How do you like school, studying a lot?”
“Do you love what you’re majoring in?”
I have been waiting for this. I have been waiting for the day that I can drink in front of my family because I, Dewey DellaMaggiore, have become of age to drink with no shame. I can now answer these questions with a buzz that brings about a little bit of hope like I actually know what I am doing with my life. Heck, maybe some confidence will come after glass number 3. Ahh. This is where I was so, so wrong. Now that I can drink, and I am the kid that went away to college, I now cannot drink too much or I will become the drunken college kid.
You should all know before I go any further, that this article was written the day before Thanksgiving at 9:48AM with the constant thought of a tall glass of red wine because just the thought of these dreaded conversations was stressing me out.
Why is it that family members who haven’t seen us in months think that we owe them all the nitty-gritty details of our oh so overwhelming, very crucial, time of our lives? Is this what they are getting at when they simply ask me the question of “How is it going?” No, probably not, but my head just goes to YOU KNOW I’M OKAY I SLEEP MAYBE 30 HOURS A WEEK. I QUESTION MY MAJOR AT EVERY SINGLE CLASS, HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT, QUIZ, AND TEST. I HAVE SO MANY GRAY HAIRS I THINK YOU ARE STARING AT ONE NOW. I HAVE FRIENDS, SOMETIMES… ON A GOOD DAY. I EAT, YES, IT’S CRAP BUT HOW AM I EXPECTED TO LEARN HOW TO COOK WHEN I AM STUDYING THE FREAKING ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN BODY AND STRESSING OVER NOT OVER-RADIATING ALL OF MY PATIENTS SO YES IT IS GOING FINE, THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!!!!! IS THAT MORE WINE, COULD YOU POUR ME ANOTHER GLASS, YES IT IS NUMBER 4 I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM.
Is it just me, or is anyone relating to this yet?
I love the holidays, more than you can understand. But so you can understand a little, if I talk about Christmas for a little too long I start to cry because I get too excited. I love my family. I think families are the biggest blessing a person can have, even if they are cuckoo. Aren’t we all cuckoo, heck I just wrote a whole paragraph in all caps. But there is this underlying pressure, especially when you only see them a couple times a year, to act like you’ve got it all together. The pressure of family is so real. For me, I just want to make them proud and to be the family member that they talk about who is “going places” and going to do “big things.” How many times do you answer one of their questions, and it’s not the answer they were expecting and they respond, “Oh, well that’s okay… you’ve still got time.” TIME FOR WHAT!?
Family members who are coming in contact with college kids this holiday season, this is a message to you. Look, you probably messed up at Thanksgiving, big time. And all of your college kid family members are thinking now is: “I’ve got to spike the Eggnog at Christmas.” Ask them about the football team (if they go to BSU they will probably rant for a little bit in frustration, but they will talk!). Ask them about one of their favorite memories they have had so far at school. What they do to remind themselves they are young college kids. How they enjoy this short, short phase of life before they enter the big kid world. What their favorite drink is! (They’ve done it, I am sorry, stop denying yourself.) If you want to ask them the dreaded questions, at least approach them with a drink for them in your hand.
We don’t want to go into a holidazeeee during the holidays, we just want all the time we can get to relax, enjoy being home, and more importantly enjoy beings with family and old friends. We are doing alright, there are just a lot more bumps than smooth roads at this time of life, and don’t ruin the holidays by reminding us of that.
Also, we are not drunks.
Let the Christmas festivities begin!
