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The Holiday Season |
Ah,
the holiday season. Time of
tinsel, lights, and snow, albeit fake snow here in California.
Most of us look forward to the holidays, although according to Junior
Stryder Zalabak, “There’s just too much build up on the
holidays”. After all it’s
a time of cheer, goodwill, presents and vacation.
Shopping can get hectic and getting ready for family events is
bound to stress anyone out. We’d
all object if anyone tried to get rid of the holiday season, but it is
difficult for most of us to understand how hard the holidays can be for
some people.
Suicide rates skyrocket in the
month of December and the number of people who just barely get through is
undocumented. So, why are the
holidays so difficult for people to get through? It’s a time of family
(what if you have none) and friends (what if you’re not speaking),
giving (to whom), sharing (with whom), and caring (for whom)?
The only thing worse than being alone is being alone and watching
other people be together. It
intensifies feelings of pain and emptiness to the point where they become
unbearable.
Imagine yourself sitting in a
cheap apartment in a crummy neighborhood.
The lights flicker constantly and the plumbing leaks at every
joint. Cold seeps through the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, and
the old-fashioned radiator rattles, but does little to abate the cold.
It is two days until Christmas and you have no one to spend it
with. Your parents disowned
you nine months ago because of a fight that started when you refused to go
to college at their alma mater. You
had a fight with your best and only friend, and you haven’t spoken to
him or her in almost a month. You’ve
spent hours staring at the phone, but you haven’t called, because he or
she might not pick up.
Does that make it easier to
understand? It’s just
something to keep in mind this holiday season.
If you see someone in pain, one kind word can make all the
difference in the world.
In past holidays, a middle-aged
father of two who loses his job as an upper level executive and can’t
face telling his family blows his brains out in a park.
A girl breaks up with her long-term boyfriend, calls him to come
pick up his stuff, and slits her wrists.
One never knows who might be in pain, which smile is a thin façade hiding a soul in desperate pain. Senior Kristin Reese says, “The holidays aren’t all too important unless you have the people that you care deeply about around you or feel cared about.” So take a little extra time, expend a little extra effort, and see if you can make a difference in the life of someone who needs a difference made.