The most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner, and if you’re like us, we have a lot of mixed feelings.

After the past two years we’ve had, it would be hard not to. On one hand, with everything piled on top of each other, like the overwhelming weight of college applications on top of schoolwork, extracurriculars, and the ever changing social world of high school, it can be hard to fall into the holiday spirit.

At the same time, it is easy to argue that we should celebrate for that exact reason. We have all collectively been through more than we can possibly put into words, and the holiday season is the perfect time to heal and be merry with all of your loved ones by your side.

The media highlights Thanksgiving and the winter holidays as model perfect dinner parties and gatherings with untouchable displays and decorations, and it is easy to fall into that trap and feel too imperfect to celebrate. As teenagers, we’re definitely used to this feeling, but it is important to remember that the Christmas season is all about coming as you are, to come together as a community to celebrate something more than yourself.

It’s about love, which at its core truly is that “Christmas magic” we hear about time and time again.

No family is perfect the same way no person is perfect, what makes the holiday is the love and laughs you share. Bring back Thanksgiving or Christmas traditions put on the back burner thanks to quarantine, and start new ones whether that be walking to see all the Christmas lights or making a new holiday dessert together with your family.

Oftentimes you hear your extended family asking why you all don’t get together as much during the holidays, and it’s true that most of the time these are the couple days of the year you spend all together.

It’s definitely a bittersweet year for most of us, as we all keep in mind that we don’t have many of these moments before we head off to college and we are determined to make the most of it. All of us have to make the most of it and let this year be a celebration of life, a celebration of love, and a celebration of family.