Another Halloween in Madison is in the books. If you’re like me, you got through the weekend with only a few injuries and one very empty pumpkin pie box. Nonetheless, we turn the calendar and move on through the season with the sparkling promise of winter break at the forefront of our minds. But, winter break is still a ways away, and I was startled when I picked up my phone the day after Halloween to find that social media thought that it was Christmas day.
I opened my Twitter feed to find tweet after tweet embracing the apparently present Christmas season, and I even saw a photo of a freshly decorated Christmas tree. On Nov. 1.
I was troubled by the mental abandonment of November, and I was frustrated that Thanksgiving seemed to evaporate. How could any college student forget about Thanksgiving? I need not remind you all that this is a day that Americans can eat whatever colossal amount of food they desire without judgment. But, Thanksgiving’s beauty is not about stuffing, and this neglect of November flirts with a particularly perturbing metaphor.
It is so easy to forget that life is not a sprint. When one landmark passes, we look toward the next, in constant pursuit of some end, only to arrive and immediately chase another. Yes, you have heard this a million times, but when was the last time you actually reflected on this race?
I deign to admit that it had been a while since I had slowed down. On a mundane walk to class, I discovered something about myself—I walk with my head down, and my mind darting. I am stuck on how terrible it is that I have a review session and a meeting that night that overlap, so I will have to choose one and be late to the other.
Recently, while having breakfast at Gordon, I picked up a slightly clogged pepper shaker. I set it down, my eggs still bare on my plate, and exclaimed, “getting a bad pepper shaker is the worst.”
On Halloween, I rolled my ankle. I was on crutches for a few days and will need to limit my activity for the next five weeks. I was irritated because this meant that I would have to miss a few Equestrian Team practices in order to heal properly.
It is understandable if you now feel the urge to tell my ask.fm account what a brat I am (no, I don’t actually have an ask.fm, sorry), but I know that I am not alone. Think of a time that you completely forgot everything that is so enchantingly wonderful about your life because of one benign setback. I swear it took me until October to even notice that I pass by my same friend every day on that “mundane” walk to class. And damn it, I was disgusted with myself when I let a faulty pepper shaker cause me to forget how fortunate I am to never have to go a day without breakfast, or even how lucky I am that I can afford to be a part of the equestrian team at all.
This is my point. Christmas rocks. Sparkly lights rock. Presents rock. But so does the ability to get out of bed every morning on your own, and having really good health, and never having to wonder when you will be able to get your next meal.
So you have a paper due tomorrow that you haven’t started. So your meeting is running late and you won’t be able to go to the gym. So your midterm didn’t go the way you wanted to. These do not yield a bad life. We are here, at this world-renowned university, and there are millions of people who consider our problems to be privileges.
I like to take walks on Lakeshore path every Sunday at dusk. No matter what assignments I have to do, I take an hour to myself to just walk and look around. It helps me remember that the academic stressors that I have are a part of the dream that I always had of becoming a Badger.
Gratitude should not dissolve at the end of November, but this month of thanks is certainly a motivating place to start. It is ok to be excited and ambitious in chasing ends. But in reality, the calendar will still arrive Dec. 25 whether you recognize today or not. I have chosen the former. Presence is far more precious than presents, and what beautiful lives we have to be present in. Happy Thanksgiving.
Marisa is a sophomore majoing in journalism. Are you guilty of rushing into Christmas season? Send all comments and questions to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
