The holidays have arrived, and in typical fashion, much sooner than anyone expected.

For some reason, life becomes far more stressful and complicated. Suddenly, you have six exams, your work schedule turned your eight hours of sleep into four, you've got to start shopping for presents for everyone, and you haven't got a second to catch your breath.

I'm not sure what it could be that causes all of this stress. One minute, you've got everything under control, and the next it's all gone downhill. The holidays are supposed to be a happy and joyous time to spend with family and friends, full of laughter and cheer, not stress and breakouts and hair-pulling.

I remember being a kid and counting down the days until winter break. I'd sleep in, catch up on some reading or video games, and watch all the family come to my house to celebrate the holidays. Now, I'm cramming for exams, working more days than are in a week, shopping for Christmas presents with the money I haven't made yet, and trying to plan a holiday with my significant other.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we stress to the point that we just want to skip the holidays altogether? I'm dreading the drive home, but I'm looking forward to seeing my family, but at the same time, I want all of this insanity to be over. I haven't had the chance to sit back and think about what I want to do for the holidays. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to try to make it to work and family functions while on my so-called winter break.

Holiday stress is so real that the Mayo Clinic has given a 10-step process for coping with holiday stress. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) shared statistics on holiday stress, which just further proves that this is one of the most stressful times of the year for a lot of people.

The year is rapidly coming to an end, and with it, is my patience. I've snapped at my dog for scratching too loudly. I've forgotten that I need to eat three times a day. I'll take a shower and dry off, and realize that I never even washed myself. It's like the holidays suck out all of my energy and leave me with nothing, because I'm grown now and have a lot more responsibilities to take care of before I can enjoy myself.

This holiday season has proven to be even more stressful than the last. There are leases to sign, classes to register for, dogs to bathe, clothes to pack, gifts to buy, apartments to clean, exams to take, and I'm still expected to smile and act happy because, oh, the holidays are here! I'm feeling more than exhausted, I'm feeling drained of the holiday spirit.

Maybe things will cool down once I'm home and with my family, having myself a nice, home-cooked meal, surrounded by lively decorations and good vibes. But I know I'm not the only one that's feeling this holiday stress.

Green Day should have changed the song lyrics to "wake me up, when the holidays end."