The holidays were something I used to look forward to all year. It was a time I truly enjoyed, and I never thought that would change or waiver in any way, until I went to college.

Finals took over the entire month of December, which is completely inevitable for each college student. There is a lot of pressure put on us toward finals season, but it is expected and handled each year, with little or no time for holiday activities set aside in my agenda. If you can handle exams, final projects and papers, and still have the time to decorate your room or watch Christmas movies, good for you- that is simply not in my capability. In an odd way, I do somewhat appreciate the disconnect I feel from the holidays, because it used to be taken too seriously in my eyes.

I felt pressure for everything to be wonderful. But now, I come home from finals, I crash and just go with the flow. I do not take my time at home for granted by any means anymore, and I love the feeling of finishing finals to come home and be a vegetable for a day or two. I don't mind the way that college has honed my focus in more toward finals season as opposed to the holiday season. By no means am I a Grinch, but now the hype of the holidays can seem to overwhelm me now more than anything else.

I love time with family and with friends, but in my opinion, winter break is exactly what it says it is: a break. It is not emphasized on holiday preparation or celebration, which in my opinion is what I needed to truly learn to enjoy the holidays. I did say college has taken the holiday sprit away from me, but I did not say that I am opposed to it.