As I sat in my living room watching Hallmark Christmas movies and enjoying our big tree, I couldn’t help but think about how different my life is going to be this time next year. I’ll be living away from home, stressing over finals and anxiously waiting for the semester to end. Being the last year at home during the holidays, I got a little upset thinking about the change. However, I took my concerns into consideration and compared them to many others around me and realized that I have it pretty good. There are so many people in the world who have to face changes that are extremely larger than mine.

I was sitting there wondering how I’d be able to get through December next year without being able to be at home, and yet there are several people who will never spend another holiday with their loved ones. It made my heart sink. I can’t even imagine going through an experience like that. After the recent tragedy in Connecticut, it made me realize how lucky I am. I was concerned about not getting to be home as much next year, and yet some families have loved ones that won’t be home at all this Christmas. The way I was feeling can’t even come close to comparing to the empty feeling those people must feel. I was apprehensive about a few changes coming up in my future, but there are people in the world who’s futures are nothing like they had planned, and their entire lives have been changed.

Because of this, I’m inspired to make this Christmas meaningful. The holidays are the best time of the year, so it’s a perfect opportunity to make the best of the time we have with the people we love. It’s not about the gifts under the tree because each moment we have is a gift itself. You honestly never know who is living their last holiday this year, so I feel like its important to treat it like it is. Find the good in every situation, feel the gift of giving, cherish each new memory you make, and most of all appreciate every little detail, because even if they seem small to you, they would mean the world to someone else if they had one more chance.