In my house, we have three Christmas trees: one real and two fake. The real tree is always a joy to decorate, even though I always break out in hives. It's always the tree that our relatives fall in love with as they walk through the front door. The tree is always the biggest we can find with the gaudiest ornaments we own. It is my personal favorite.

This year, it was my job to put up fake tree No. 1. I put it together and spent hours trying to fluff up the branches just right. I took a step back after all my fluffing and cried. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but it was quite possibly the ugliest thing I have ever seen. As I sat down on the floor before this disastrous monstrosity, I realized that this is what my life looks like sometimes, a complete mess.

So why is life much like a fake Christmas tree?

It never looks the way we planned.

As I was putting together my fake tree, I planned for it to look just like our real tree. I planned for people to walk by and gawk in awe at my masterpiece. However, when I took a step back, it was not at all like my vision. Life can happen that way, too. We make plans and goals, and when we take a step back, we are hit with the reality that we aren't there yet or that we have gone in a completely different direction. Thankfully, in life, we can make adjustments, just like we can adjust the branches of our tree. We can either adjust our vision or our life. Don't just sit down and cry when things don't go the way you planned; do something about it! Life is for you to mold and shape, so do not despair when there's a gaping hole between two branches.

Decorations make it more enjoyable.

As soon as I started putting ornaments on that pitiful tree, I could see my vision coming alive. The tree did not look so bad after all! In life, not everything is fun or beautiful, but when we add in the things that we love, it becomes the masterpiece we have always dreamed of. Don't sacrifice your hobbies and friends to achieve your dream, because they're the ones who decorate your life and put a little sparkle in the places that need it. Without them, you'll end life with just a plain tree with gaps between the branches and pre-lit lights that don't work.

It's not about you at all, but the people who surround you.

We all have our selfish days, but isn't it always a joy to love others and just share a smile or a laugh with them? On Christmas morning, my two brothers, mom, dad, dog, and I all sat around what I thought to be the ugliest tree on the planet. We all had gifts under that tree from each other, and as we opened them and laughed together at my brothers' new underwear and my new socks, I looked around and realized that this tree may be a mess, but the people around it make it beautiful. I have found that, when I surround myself with amazing, joyful people, my life reflects their best attributes. My seemingly ugly tree turns into my favorite place to be, and my seemingly dull life turns into my favorite story.

Merry Christmas to all my beautiful trees!