Dear Christmas,

Dear Christmas,

Hey old pal, how you holding up? I know this time of the year is really busy for you... but I really needed to talk. You seem different from past years, you don't seem like yourself. What happened to all the yuletide cheer? The love? The friendship? You've been so rapped up in trying to please everyone, you haven't taken time to relax and soak in all that's good around you! Since when has this season been all about who can give the best gifts? Or who can buy the most gifts? Or who can afford the most expensive gifts? Christmas, I miss our old times together. Remember when mom would drop me and my sisters off at the dollar store, and give each of us 10 dollars to spend. We would run around the store for hours trying to find little gifts with significant meanings. Oh my goodness, remember when I picked out that miniature plastic golf set for dad? I knew he'd probably never use it, but I did know he would smile when he opened it. And he did. Seeing him smile, made me so so happy. Christmas, it's the little things that make this season so special. Like the hot coco, and the candy canes, mittens, and the mistletoe. Most importantly, it's about the family. It's our time to enjoy each others company by the fire, and snuggle while watching Elf for the 100th time. It's our time to reflect on this past year and acknowledge all the good, and the bad.
I haven't seen the old Christmas in a while, and I miss you. Please come back soon...

Best wishes,

Olivia

Why so Serious?

I have found, as a teenager in the 21st century, that a good sense of humor is hard to come by. I have been very fortunate to have been raised by two parents who are hilarious and love to joke around. Because of them I’m not afraid to laugh. When a play, musical, or movie is funny I’ll laugh out loud. If I’m reading something particularly hilarious, you bet I’ll be laughing out loud. But you see, the issue is that, not everyone feels the same way. Some people are afraid to laugh! (or just don’t find anything funny.)
Earlier this week my class was reading articles from the newspaper The Onion. The Onion writes about current events with a comedic twist. They not only claim to be “America’s finest news source” (which is a hilarious remark) they also manage to get serious information out to the public in a light-hearted fashion. Ok back to the point, while we were reading these articles in class I couldn’t help but laugh! What we were reading was comedy gold! If you couldn’t already tell I was having a grand old time in english class, when I began to feel embarrassed. When I looked around, I was surprised to see no one laughing. Not even a giggle!
This concerning sight made me think, y’all need to lighten up! What’s the fun in being so serious all the time? It’s not a crime to laugh. It’s a compliment. Not only does laughing make you smile, it makes the person telling the joke smile too! Thanks to this week’s lesson, I have found my new source of giggles. The Onion. I kid you not, I have been reading articles for hours! And I can assure you I have laughed at all of them. I highly recommend you do the same.

Side note: If someone from The Onion happens to be reading this, I would love to apply! Or if you’re not hiring new writers, you could always just hire me to laugh at all the new articles to make your employees feel good!