Holidays are such precious things. I remember when I was little I could barely fall asleep before Christmas Day. I remember popping out of my bed Easter morning and running downstairs to find the eggs the Easter bunny hid. I remember so many holidays with such vibrancy that it’s almost blinding.

Over the years, holidays have started to lose their significance to me. Only Christmas and my friends’ birthdays are important to me now, mainly because I can give people gifts.

I miss being able to have days of pink, red, and white hearts on Valentines Day. Spending hours on my mailbox and Valentines I would hand out to every one. I miss drawing two extra hearts on my best friend’s valentine and eating all the candy when I got home.

I miss my birthday. I miss waking up with a special breakfast and birthday cake in the freezer. Looking back, I really do admire how much my mother could surprise me in little ways, even with working a full-time job. I miss going to the Lazy Dog with my whole family.

And in these ways, I miss all the other holidays. Every year, Christmas, Valentines Day, Halloween, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day comes around and they’re the same as any other day. I miss how special these days were to me.

This year’s Easter, for instance, was quite normal. I woke up and talked to my sister. Then I cleaned my room and watched a movie in the lounge. We did egg dying, but only for about 5 minutes. I wish that Sunday was special. A campus-wide egg hunt or a van trip to eat brunch. It wasn’t a bad day, but I just wish it were more special, more memorable, like the ones I used to have.

School is a weird thing.

I mean its great, but in reality we go and learn for up to 25 years of our life about things that most of us will forget in the near future, for me, the next day

But quite honestly I love school

Now there are a couple subjects that when I know that they are that day, I want to stay in bed and cry until I could basically solve California’s drought issue, but other then that school has brought me and many other kids around the world opprotunies.

The other thing about school, that I’ve started to realize is important to me is the social aspect. The fact that we are all squeezed into classroom and basically stuck with eachother can be a fun way to meet other people.

As well as becoming friends with fellow classmates, you start to grow a connection with some teachers who’s advice and motivational speeches you will never forget.

I hope as you read this, you realized that, even if you are out of school, that school is honestly the biggest blessing in disguise.

I know, I know, you hate it now…I do too at some times, but without school big changes might not have been made, lives may have not been changed, and we as a society may not be where we are right now.

So think about that next time you think about crying over that essay that your evil AP world teacher assigned

PHOTO CREDIT: workattheyard.com

I remember when I was little, about four or five, I would sneak into my mom’s closet and steal her shiny, nude heels and scurry back to my room. There I’d fit my tiny feet into those stolen shoes, put on a pink tutu, and place my heart-jeweled, plastic crown on my unbrushed hair. I proceeded to strut my stuff back and forth on my bedroom’s hardwood floor, until my mom would hear the clanking of her shoes and come running to get them back.

Although dress-up was a favorite pastime of mine, that’s not the reason I did this. I made my room my training ground for being a princess. My ultimate goal in life was to be a princess. Beautiful and graceful, just like Cinderella. Now I’m ten years wiser, however, some of my childhood dream hasn’t changed.

My mother never believed in CD’s, so my entire Disney princess collection was on VHS. I would pop in the cassette, 9 out of 10 times it would be that of Cinderella, and rewind it to the beginning. I’d press play and watch and watch until I needed to eat or get a drink of water then I’d pause it. Whenever there was a scary part of the movie, remember I was only four, I would hide behind my black leather couch while my mom fast forwarded the movie to the next scene. I would also have my mom rewind the ballroom dance scene, as it was my favorite.

I wish I could live the life of my VHS Disney princesses. I wish I could wake up wanting nothing but to dance around in big, bellowing ball gowns. The only pain I feel is the night after wearing those unbearably slick glass slippers. To have heartbreak only last half an hour. To fast forward on the tough times. To rewind my greatest memories. To take a minute to pause my life.

Unfortunately, I can’t live in that world. In fact, no one can. If it were possible, then I’d say there would be a severe shortage in pumpkins.

Even the lives of real-life royalty are far from perfect. I mean, they have a kingdom full of people to run. Plus, most are seen constantly by the public eye. I would have people look up to me and have a society who sees me as perfect when I’m far from it.

Now, when I’m asked what I want to be when I grow up, I’ll say something completely different than I would’ve thought a decade ago. However, little me would see the magic in pretty ball gowns and tiaras and say, through the cracks of her crooked teeth, “A princess!”