Emily Crighton

Editor-in-Chief

Ah, the holidays. Depending on your home life, they can be either wonderful or draining. Sometimes, they can be both.

This (excluding finals, of course) is my favorite time of year.

I love getting to go home, relax and spend time with my loved ones. I love putting up the Christmas tree, making a big meal for my family and finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I thrive on all that cliche stuff.

Heck, I live for breaks in general. Spring break, long weekends, you name it. I love seeing my family.

Having grown up in a home with divorced parents, my brother and I have always had to juggle our time. Of course, both parents want us to spend Christmas morning with them, or a certain Saturday afternoon.

Being home for the holidays often means rushing from my grandma’s in Mountain Home, to my mom’s in Garden City to my dad’s in Nampa…and back again, and again. Add friends to the mix and breaks can be as meticulously planned as school.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and as if there is no way on earth to please everyone.

While my friends and family never try to make it hard on me, I always feel a little bit like I’m letting someone down or that I’m making the wrong choice by doing one thing instead of the other.

When I was first starting college, I felt a bit homeless during breaks.

I floated from house to house to house and felt a bit as if I didn’t really belong anywhere in particular. Now, however, I realize that it’s not that I have no home, I have several.

I am so dang lucky. I have so much family that love me and wants to spend time with me. They build me up, encourage me and are downright good people. That’s why I love Christmas and other holidays so much.

Sure, the break from classes is great (and very necessary for my sanity), but being with my family is my favorite part of the holidays. I know that no matter where I am in my life, I’ll always do my darndest to be with my family this time of year.

However you spend the holidays this year, I hope that it makes you as happy as being with my family makes me. I know we all do it differently, and there is absolutely no problem with that.

Now, all we need to do is make it through this week, dead week and finals. Easy enough, right?