A Christmas Like Never Before

This Christmas season seems so different from the other Christmas seasons we’ve had before.

Is it just me who feels the same way? I think not.

This year’s holiday season felt colder. But, not literally. It felt colder because of the sadness and loneliness that lingers in the air – we can’t seem to escape from it. The warmth we’ve always felt during this time seems to be missing. The warmth of love, the warmth of kindness, the warmth of empathy that heightens during this season that we used to feel from the past years is not present. The cold weather seems to freeze even our hearts.

But, this is not something that happened so suddenly. This year have been so tough and the difficulties just does not end even if the year is coming to a close. We want to have a peaceful life even for a little bit now that very nearing the end but it problems still keeps coming.

For students like me, we’ve been through a hell of a year. Tiring, exhausting, draining and all other words that mean the same describe the whole year. This is not just true for us students, but for most of us. It is a shared sentiment that we have been through so much during this year.

We worked so hard this year that we could not even give time for ourselves and our families. We faced so many hardships that made us question our faith. Everyday, we dread for our safety and security. Everyday, we struggle to make ends meet.

We just want a break for a while and we’ve been waiting for holidays to have that break.

Yet, life does not seem to go along with our wants.

Students like me still have responsibilities to do. A semester that did not even pause for a while felt like forever. This holiday break for us seemed like a light at the end of this unending dark tunnel. But, only a few days before Christmas, we still had quizzes and exams we have to prepare for. Our schedules are still packed with activities to pass. And, it does not end there. There are still requirements that we have to submit even on the holidays. And others might have had worse than this.

It is saddening. A cold, cold Christmas like no other indeed.

Yet, we do not want to make it colder anymore. Whatever life gives us will not make us give up this wonderful time of the year. Even when challenges do not stop coming, they will not stop us from enjoying the holidays we’ve been waiting for.

We can make this Christmas season still special. We could make this a Christmas like no other but in a positive way.

This Christmas will be extra special because this is a proof that we have stayed strong to get this far. These holidays is a time to show our courage to be happy still, even when things are hard.

This Christmas will be the best Christmas because right now, we can appreciate better the joy of it. The essence of Christmas is giving. But, more than that, I think it is gratitude and thankfulness. It is a time where we can show our appreciation for ourselves – for making it this far. It is a time to show appreciation for our loved ones who helped us get through this year, be it through material gifts or just words of appreciation.

This will be a Christmas like never before because we can feel more grateful of the things that we have right now. Even when the year have been so hard, we’re still here. We have ourselves and our loved ones we can share the joy of Christmas with.