The Significance of a Memorable Gift

The Significance of a Memorable Gift

            When getting a loved one a gift for the holidays, have you ever stopped and thought of getting him or her something other than jewelry?  Maybe, or maybe not. Yes some people would be really mad if their boyfriend didn’t get her expensive earrings or a necklace but those people are called selfish. To them it is all about how much is spent and how big the item is. But let me tell you something, it’s about knowing he or she got you something out of love, not money.

            If you would rather have a 500 carrot necklace than a scrapbook of every date you have been on along with dinner and a little something special, then good for you. It just goes to show you are all about the money and have to be bought rather than loved. Ten years from now you will look back and say, where did that necklace go? Or why did I even want this? When you could pull out the scrap book and show your kids what you and your husband looked like in college, with your retro clothes and long and have a good laugh. But instead you get to forget when you even received that expensive necklace that has hardly any memorable meaning to it.

            Putting time and effort towards anything you do is much more worth it than buying something. Giving is the meaning of Christmas. No not giving the one you love everything she can imagine because you are rich. But giving something that has a meaning. A gift with no meaning isn’t a gift at all. Without meaning there is money wrapped in a box. But something that has significance is worth holding on to and worth a smile every time it is seen. It is supposed to not only bring back memories, but make them as well. (316)

Holiday Shopping

Holiday Shopping

            It’s that time of the year again where the stores are a disaster! Everywhere you go it is super crowded and crazy loud. In all of the stores babies are crying people are coughing and all you get out of it are a few presents and giant migraine.

            For starters the morning before you go out you have to look through all of the ads and write down a list of what you need from each store, hoping they haven’t ran out of what you need before you get there. Then you have to make sure you have everything on the correct lists and stay within your budget by searching and searching for sales. After all of that now you have a huge mess of papers all over your living room floor,

            Now that you have finally managed to make it out of your house you realize you have to clean your car out because you have no room for the presents. After you hit the first bump in the road you still manage to have the big list with all of your items and are headed to the first of many stores.

            As you are arriving to the first store not only is it packed and freezing outside, you have to park what feels like a mile away! When you are walking inside you are just wishing and praying that this will all be worth it when it comes Christmas morning.

            When you reach the front door your eyes almost bulge from your face. You see over thousands of people and hardly any items that you are looking for. You feel you stomach tighten while you fret with a panic. All you hear is heartbeat and the sound of your children crying because they didn’t get what they wanted come Christmas morning. Luckily after an hour or two you manage to find almost everything on your list for that specific store and are checking out and ready to hit the next place.

            After the hassle of carrying everything to your car and loading it you hit a traffic jam of about a 20 minute wait of just trying to get out of the parking lot onto the main road! You finally make it to the next store and you are a little behind schedule but all that you can possibly think about is how am I going to make sure and get all of these things on my list!

            By the time ten o’clock rolls around you have been shopping for almost twelve hours! In all that time you had managed to make it to more than ten stores, three different cities including the one you live in and managed to complete your big list of items while maintain your budget. You are exhausted but very proud that you hung in there and put up with the crowd and all of the sales clerks that were ringing up items more than needed. You say to yourself I’m done! Only to think that you have to do this same thing again next year.

            As you arrive home you send your kids downstairs so they don’t realize what is going on while you carry in all of their gifts. After you sit down for the first time in a long time you exhale with a feeling of joy, visualizing the smiles that are going to be on your kids’ faces. Only to realize you still have to wrap all of the gifts… (583)

 

Christmas Parties

Christmas Parties

            My favorite part about Christmas is attending all of the Christmas parties! Being on numerous athletic teams and having many groups of friends I get to be at a lot of Christmas parties. Never have I once been to a boring party because they are always filled with joy.

            At the parties we make Christmas cookies together and decorate them and we sometimes have contests to see who made the best looking cookie! While the cookies are baking we start a Christmas movie and sit down and watch it together. After the movie is finished the cookies are too. When then have a huge dinner and eat the cookies for dessert.

            Since it is still light out we go outside and play in the snow or sometimes we will make up a scavenger hunt to go on, because those are always fun! When it becomes dark out we head back inside to do our gift exchange. Before the party my friends and I all got together and picked a name from the hat and we couldn’t tell anyone who we had. That way the day of the party it was a surprise and we had presents for each other to get in the holiday spirit!

            Once we were finished with the exchange we took a boat load of pictures so that night we could make our Christmas scrapbook for that year. After we were finished taking pictures we went to the computer and printed out numerous copies of each picture and everyone brought their own scrapbook to add to from the previous year. This is a great way to hold all of your memories over the years, plus we had a blast doing it.

            To top the night off we all set up our beds in the living room preparing ourselves for an all nighter! While some of us go make all the popcorn and get the left over cookies and other goodies the others go to the garage and get the pop. We celebrate yet another successful Christmas party and end it like we always do, with a Christmas movie marathon! (354)

Christmas Break

Christmas Break

 

            Christmas break is one of my most favorite times of the year. It is a time where I can go sledding everyday with my friends and spend a lot of time with my family. Of course there is Christmas day where we get to open up presents that “Santa Claus” brought us, but that is not what Christmas is all about. Yes I like to open up presents and feel that surprise like butterflies go through my tummy but that’s not my favorite part.
 

            My favorite part of Christmas Break is when all of my college friends come home and we all reunite. I love being able to catch up with all of them because I have a few really close college friends that I would consider my best friends. It is really hard to go up to their college and spend a weekend with them because I have sports of my own back here at home. There are some times, very few maybe two times where I can go see them during a school term, but that is not enough for me. My friends and I try to keep up with texting each other but it is hard because they have classes at awkward times and I have practices after school, but somehow we make it work. Because of all of these interruptions keeping us apart, are the reasons I look forward to Christmas Break because I may only have one week off but college students have roughly five weeks off! That means we get to spend a lot of time together.

 

            Another reason I enjoy Christmas break is because of all of the Christmas cookies my mom and grandma bake and all of the dinners my dad and grandpa put together. Every night I get to look forward to coming home to a wonderful and thankful dinner with cookies for dessert.

 

            One thing I dislike about Christmas Break is that I see all of these pictures of people on Facebook and tweets on twitter about having so much fun in Cancun or Florida and how tan they look when they come back home. I will never get to go on Christmas Break while I am in high school because I have basketball practices and if you miss practice to go on vacation it is not acceptable and you have to sit out of a lot of games. That is one downer but oh well, because I guess if you look at it I am having just as much fun going sledding and hanging with my friends and family. The only difference is that when we go back to school I won’t be tan and everyone that went on vacation will be. Which It doesn't really matter because I could really care less if I was tan or not. (472)

The First Snowfall of the Year

The First Snowfall of the Year

 

            Winter is my absolute favorite time of the year. It is the one time where everywhere you go all you see are the trees covered with the wonderful white snow and it is so bright outside. As a kid you are praying every morning and every night to have at least a two hour delay if not a snow day. On snow day the nearest hill is filled with kids piling on sleds and being reckless, but they don’t care as long as they are having fun! After a long day in the snow and you are forced to come in due to the frostbit you swear you have on your toes and fingers. When you walk in the doors of your house feeling the rush of warmth while you are trying to get those hundreds of layers of clothes off so you don’t suffer of heat stroke! You get a wonder surprise of delicious hot chocolate over flowing with marshmallows because your mother knows that’s the way you like it.
 

            Something I don’t understand is how you can hate a season? Whether it is fall, winter, spring or summer I just don’t get it. Yes I understand how old people don’t like the extreme winters because they are already cold enough as it is , which is why a lot of grandparents are what we call snowbirds and go south for the winters just like birds. Hence the birds in snowbirds. As a child and not liking snow the only explanation I can come up with is that is how you were raised. Being a kid and not liking snow is just a childhood fun sucker! Kids in Florida die to see snow and then there is you, living up here where we have wonderful snow filled winters and you hate it.

 

            The first snow fall of the year is either a really good day or a dreadful day, depending on who you are. For me I wake up with the biggest smile on my face and can’t wait to get outside and others just wish it was spring already. Last year was a terrible winter for me because we had hardly any snow and I couldn't go sledding at all and I didn't get to go to Sundown once to snowboard because there was no snow. The worst thing of all was that we didn't even have a white Christmas so it didn't even feel right to be celebrating it. (418)

Sunday Night Football

Sunday Night Football

            Sundays are my free, laid back and homework days. Some people are probably thinking right now of how crazy I am for saving all of my homework for Sundays but that is how it works for me. Don’t get me wrong if I have a free Saturday here and there I will start my homework and sometimes finish it which is good for me because that means instead of multi tasking while trying to watch the Packers I just get to relax.

            During this time of the year is when football begins to get super competitive and serious and I resist to ever missing the Packers play because they are my favorite team in the NFL. I love watching the Packers play and hopefully one of these days my dad will get us tickets to go see them for real! Seeing the packers play in real life would be a dream come true.

            For me doing homework while watching the game makes me feel like I am getting a lot more done in a smaller amount of time. I think this is, because I am balancing out doing something boring and having fun. This method works very well for me and it may work well for you too. The only problem with my time management method is that sometimes I go to a friends’ house to watch the game and I either go early to hang out for a while or stay a little later. In this case I would wake up early in the morning to finish my homework before I leave my house, that way I am not paranoid about getting my homework done in time when I get home. So then I can just relax, have fun and enjoy my time with my friends while it lasts.

            So my friends and I were having this debate on whether Sunday Night Football was better or Monday night Football. I said Sunday because you can hang out with friends and relax all day where Monday you either have school or work and you still need to get your homework done and need to get to bed at a decent hour. What do you prefer, Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football? Leave a comment and let me know! (382)

Sucky Jobs

Sucky Jobs

Sunday nights are the highlights of my week. It is the day where I get to sleep in and do nothing but watch Sunday night football with my dad while wearing our Packer jerseys. I love football season because it brings me that much closer to my dad. I don’t get to see my dad a lot because he works during the night and sleeps during the day. In the morning if my dad doesn’t work overtime he gets home around 7:30. Some days I don’t go to school early and am almost late just so I can stay home and eat breakfast and have a conversation with my dad in the morning.

Some people don’t realize how difficult it is to live a normal life with a single parent but I kind of know the feeling. My dad has never once seen me play volleyball because he has to go to work before the game is even over and he is sleeping when it starts. My dad has only seen me play club soccer about ten times and I’ve been playing since I was four years old, not to mention my high school soccer games, he has only made it to a handful. Last year my high school soccer team made it to the state tournament and luckily my dad made it to all three of those games including the game that we won the state title. Having my dad there meant the world to me and I will never forget it.

Everyone needs to have a bonding activity with their parents but I’m lucky enough to have two. Other than watching football my dad and I dance. I dance for studio dance and they offer a class called father daughter. My dad didn’t like it at first because he felt girly but he kept doing it because he knew how much it meant to me to spend that much more time with me. We have been doing this dance together for 14 years and we will continue to do it until I leave for college because it is kind of a getaway for us. 

I absolutely hate when I hear my classmates talk crap about their parents and say how they wish they would just leave, because I bet if they left the kids would have wish they never said that. Even though my dad can’t make it to all of my sporting events or my academic award assemblies I know he still cares about me the same amount as my mom. My time with him is just limited and when I am with him he shows that he does love me but he just can’t always be there to show it because of his job. That’s why when my dad is at my games and I see him in the crowd I get this huge smile on my face with warmth in my heart and play better than I have ever played before.  Just because I see my dad less than three hours a day doesn’t change a thing. It just means that the hours I spend with him make it that more special. (529)

Christmas Is Almost Here

Christmas Is Almost Here

 

Christmas is full of joy, happiness and spending time with your family and loved ones. The whole month of December kids around the world are counting down the days until Christmas. They can’t wait to open up all the presents that Santa brings them and to feel the rush of excitement. They feel paranoid all month because they don’t want to be on the naughty list before Santa comes to their house.
 

 Family and holiday traditions are one of the most unique things about this time of the year. My mother and I always make cookies for the neighbors, my friends and my fathers’ and my mothers’ work members all December long. It is great bonding time and a lot of fun! My family and I also just try and spend a lot of time together and are grateful for what we have. I noticed over the years that as a family we were just happier and not as greedy when its Christmas time because my mom always told us how we were lucky to get anything on Christmas, because some kids parents can’t afford to buy them a present.

 

Christmas for me isn’t all about the presents but more about the thought people give for others. From school to your best friends, to your teachers, to your neighbors, to the people you walk by once or twice, the sense of joy they can feel by you simply smiling with a friendly wave or nod. I like to give what I can to others because I was raised knowing that not everyone was as grateful as my brothers and I. Which is why I am involved in my Student Government at school because we buy gifts for people in need that way I can give back what I have.

 

I especially love Christmas because it is the one time of the year that Christmas is on the radio! I love Christmas music because it is so cheery and joyful. The beat is impossible not to catch on to and listening to one song puts me in a happy mood. Not only is the Christmas music only available during the winter but snow is also! I love to go sledding and snowboarding with my friends because it is a great way of bonding for us. Once we go out our parents have to drag us back in but the time was well spent. Christmas is that time of year where if you aren’t having the best day, that can easily be arranged. (425)

High School Memories

High School Memories

 

High school, such a thing with many changes and memories. Everyone looks at high school with a different perspective. Parents are always worried about you making it to your classes on time and not getting pushed around in the halls and mostly they are afraid of their little baby growing up. Teachers hate the halls more and more each year because the new set of freshman never know what they are doing or where to go. As a student you want to fit in and look cool. The seniors of course are bossing everyone around and the freshman look like deer in head lights. After the first month all of that dies down.

In high school is normally when you find friends that will last a life time. You meet people that go to different high schools from your new classmates and athletic events. Some people even find the love of their life. Then you have the other kids who just hope to make it to graduation day.

 

The memories that high school brings us are life time memories. There are things that you will never forget and things you wished that you’ve never experienced. The homework brings the worst memories of high school to us but eventually you get used to it and will keep living the day as usual. There are some weeks at school just feel a month long but with your friends around the whole four years of high school experience flies by! So live every day, week, month, trimester and year as if it was your last. Just make sure to make something of yourself and don’t be that kid living in the shadows of someone. Be yourself when it comes to anything and don’t try and impress others by lying to make yourself sound more interesting because someday it will come back and get you. (314)