Have you ever heard the saying, “the best nights are usually unplanned, random, and spontaneous?” I think this quote describes how many of us feel at our age. The nights we randomly decide to go for a road trip or go out are more exciting than the days we spend weeks planning for, such as holidays. Holidays and just random specific days of the year are not as fun as they used to be, such as your birthday, Halloween, Christmas and New Years. These days just don’t live up to their hype anymore.
Birthdays were huge when we were younger. You would have all your best friends over for a sleepover or go to an amusement park, whatever your younger self wanted. It was your special day and you would get loads of gifts from all your friends. Now, your birthday consists of maybe a dinner with your family and friends and one or two gifts. You wake up on your birthday thinking it will be this magical day, but at the end of it nothing has really changed. Yeah, you are one year older, but it is just your plain ole' typical day.
Halloween has personally never been a favorite day of mine, but to most, it is the greatest day of the year. There are weeks that go into planning the costumes that you wear for five hours, but spend a boatload on money to make. I miss dressing up in my costume and running down my street to different houses and getting as much candy as I could possibly want. Now, we dress up, go to the bars, look like fools, get drunk, and go home. Yes, that is fun for most, but I have to say I was extremely happy leaving the bar on a Saturday night. I thought to myself: “I don’t have to do this again for another year.”
Then, there is Christmas. This holiday used to be the most amazing day of the year for me. It was the one day of the year I always looked forward to. I mean, who doesn’t love sitting next to their Christmas tree with hot chocolate and looking out the window seeing the snow fall. But now, I don’t even remember the last time we had a snowy, white Christmas. These past few years all we have had was cold, icky weather with nothing magical or movie like about it. The hype for Christmas begins the day after Halloween. In most areas, Christmas music is on the radio and people are buying decorations and gifts. I mean they have had Christmas decorations out for almost a month already. Maybe because we start getting excited about Christmas so early, the hype for the actual day is really low. I think waiting for this day is more exciting than actual Christmas day.
Now, New Year's Eve is another day that just does not live up to the hype. I mean, yeah, I bet people have tons of fun on this day, but for most it is just another day. The hype for New Year's Eve is so high, everyone dresses up and gets together with their friends to ring in a new year. But, after the clock strikes midnight, the night is basically over and it becomes just another day and just another year. There is nothing too special about it after the clock strikes 12.
This doesn’t mean that these holidays are boring and overrated; I just think they aren’t the same anymore. I don’t know if it’s because we are older, but most of these days just don’t excite me as much. The exciting days for me are the ones that go unplanned. I think because we are in college, it is easier to have a spontaneous day, and we enjoy them more than the planned ones.
