I am 19 years old, and I am an avid believer in Santa Claus. No unfortunately, there is no toy factory in the North Pole with little elves running around. If you were still unaware of this fact, I’m sorry for having to be the one to burst your bubble. Mine was burst by a mean girl in 5th grade who thought she was “the smartest and the coolest” for knowing the cold, hard truth about Santa. Too bad she was really the naive one. Santa Claus is real, and here’s why.

Santa Clause is an emotion It’s a feeling that every one of us possesses, and it comes out most often around Christmas time.

That guy in the mall dressed in the red suit? He's Santa Claus. The man waving from the fire truck during the Christmas parade? He's Santa Claus too. How about that woman in the toy store buying a doll for her niece? Yup, another Santa Claus.

Your parents are probably the most recognizable Santa's in your life, they have been for a while. We all have the ability to be Santa because Santa is something that lives inside all of us. It's that feeling of gift giving where you honestly couldn't care less what the other person got for you, or if they are even getting you a gift.

All that matters is how freaking excited you are to see the look on their face when they open up your perfectly chosen present. It's giving up your Saturday of relaxation to go and volunteer at the soup kitchen, because after last night's freezing temperatures you know they need help more than ever. It’s making the extra effort to shovel your neighbor's driveway, just because. Santa is a sense of selflessness, a desire to give to others unconditionally.

What does Santa do? He spreads Joy, he gives gifts, and he spends his time working for the betterment of others without any payment (no, cookies don’t count). There is no “reward”, nothing earned in return, just the desire to do what he can to change people’s days. Becoming Santa does not require performing an act of a certain size or quantity. There is no qualification you must meet in order to be deemed a “Santa Claus”. This is because those who are the best Santas never even have a second thought about the good they have done. They just do it.

So this Christmas, let your inner Santa come out. I promise you won’t regret it.