The past two years I lived in New York City, and one of my biggest fears when moving to Texas was leaving behind Manhattan’s glamorous Christmas. In all seriousness, almost every Christmas movie takes place in New York, and I don’t know if anything compares to the feeling of walking down Fifth Avenue, looking at all of the breathtaking windows at Bergdorf’s and Saks. I even worked in Rockefeller Center this past year and would watch people ice skate on the rink from the NBC cafeteria on the 9th floor. Christmas in New York has a special place in my heart and just looking back at pictures from the past two years truly makes my heart melt a bit.
But, somehow, TCU has outdone itself again and has completely blown me away. I sat on the lawn of the commons, staring up at the sky watching an incredible show of fireworks unfold. Surrounded by classmates and roommates, cozied up in ugly Christmas sweaters and Santa hats, we listened to live caroling, drank hot chocolate, stuffed our faces with kettle corn and cuddled up together as we listened to the countdown: “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” and then there it was, the big beautiful TCU tree was lit up at last!
The commons glowed, covered in purple and white lights with giant snowflakes and mistletoe projected on the buildings. To one side there are longhorns to ride, reindeer to pet, cards to write to Santa, and relay races to participate in. On the other side there are hundreds of cookies, the best hot chocolate you’ll ever taste (with big bowls of marshmallows available too, of course), and photo booths. Don’t forget the incredible face paint, Frosty the Snowman, Super Frog in a Santa costume, and Nutrackers on stilts. Yes, this is real life.
This really shouldn’t come as such a shock to me, as TCU has continued to surprise me and surpass my highest expectations all semester, but something about the tree lighting was so unreal. The entire community came together in great spirits to not only give students a push to get through finals, but to also to celebrate this beautiful school that we all take so much pride in. I had heard so much about the tree lighting all semester so my hopes were set really high and I didn’t know what exactly to expect, but one thing I now know is that you cannot exaggerate the joy in the air on the night of the tree lighting. There is nothing more special than a community coming together to celebrate as a horned frog family.
The tree lighting at TCU has really been the cherry on top this semester. While the glamour, coziness, and tradition of Christmas in New York will always be close to my heart, I do think that TCU gives Manhattan some real competition. I am beyond excited to be a horned frog for life.
(Photo Credits: Chandler Rogers)