I'm young and in the Christmas spirit, don't hurt me

‘Tis the month of December and all I want for Christmas is to be walking through a Winter Wonderland. Alas, I am walking through a wonderland of single-spaced papers, crowded libraries, terrifying study guides and caffeinated college students. For those of us who are new to this and have never witnessed college during the last month of the year, we experience a simultaneous sensory overload and numbing of the brain. Basically, we’re confused as heck.

We have some questions:

Is it necessary to give everyone I know an ugly Carolina Christmas sweater this year?

Is showing holiday spirit cool? Or am I only supposed to show an “I hate finals” spirit?

What do I do over winter break? Seriously, help.

Why didn’t I get basketball tickets?

Does Santa still make his way down the chimney for 18 year olds?

December looks a lot different on a college campus than it does in the outside world. I am accustomed to high amounts of anticipation, counting down to Christmas, arts and crafts, baking cookies and the perfect amount of Mariah Carey. This year, I will instead scavenge for food as my meal plan runs dry, walk home from the library in the cold, dark hours of the night, fill out Scantrons, and face sleep-deprived teenagers at every turn.

It’s all very dismal.

To all of the first-years who, like me, feel their holiday spirit being tortured by the Jack Frost that is finals week, don’t give up.

As we all know from Elf, Santa’s sleigh is powered by the spirit of Christmas. It is extremely important that we do not disappoint him. Let out your inner Zooey Deschanel and sing carols in front of hundreds of onlookers. Wear your lucky Christmas sweater to all of your finals. Motivate yourself to study with one candy cane per hour. Text your friends “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night” before bed every evening.

Stay holly and jolly and the magic of Christmas might just bump up those exam scores. In case you didn’t hear, it’s the best time of the year.