I am a self-proclaimed Christmas nut. I love the music, decorations, cute winter outfits, movies, giving gifts and spending time with loved ones. However, the older I get, the more energy Christmas seems to take. When you’re a kid, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the holiday traditions laid out for you by adults. But now that you are an adult, the holidays can be hard.
As much as I love the festivities, the holidays take time, energy and money: three things that college students are absolutely lacking. It’s disheartening trying to buy gifts for loved ones and realizing that unless you take on extra hours at work, buying those gifts means that you can’t pay your rent.
It’s hard to find the energy to decorate your college living area knowing that you’ll barely get to enjoy it while you run around between classes and extracurriculars all while studying for finals week. Finding the time to bake homemade gingerbread cookies is nearly impossible when you’re struggling to get to work on time from class.
It’s also okay if you’re not looking forward to going home for winter break. With college comes independence, and often, once you’ve gotten a taste of that independence, it’s hard to go back to your childhood bedroom under the watchful eye of your parents. If you’re someone who has an emotionally abusive household that college offers an escape from, it can be incredibly difficult to steel yourself to go back home to that level of toxicity for a whole month.
It’s okay to just be nostalgic for a time when things were easier. College is tough. This is a bit of an awkward transition stage for many of us as we float between childhood and adulthood. It’s okay to enjoy the independence that comes with adulthood and to also miss the simplicity of childhood.
This holiday season, give yourself permission to enjoy the childlike joy of the holiday season. Put on your festive socks, make a hot chocolate and curl up on the couch to watch your favorite holiday movie.
However, you also need to give yourself permission to just rest. Don’t put stress on yourself to decorate, bake or buy expensive gifts for your loved ones to show how much you love them. They know that you do, and they should also understand the financial situation of most college students.
We put so much pressure on the holiday season to be magical each and every year. We want to make the lights bigger and brighter, the tree more beautiful than last year’s, the outfits cuter, the presents even better than any we’ve ever bought before. Every year we set ourselves up for disappointment by expecting so much out of the month of December that it simply can’t live up to. Enjoy the music and the festivities, but allow yourself to feel whatever you need to feel.
If you’re stressed or struggling over the next few weeks and catch yourself not enjoying the holiday season as much as you usually do, it’s okay.
It’s okay to be sad this holiday season.