This holiday season, reach out to those who can’t spent it with their families

ADDY PITTENGER, Staff writer —

The Holidays can be both a very joyful and stressful time — joyful in that it brings families and friends together, but stressful due to distance and traveling. After reconsidering the idea of what it means to be privileged, especially in the holiday sense, it is important to realize that being able to travel and see family during the holidays is a privilege in itself. 

I personally have never had to travel a long distance in order to see family, as a majority of my family lives in Ohio, but my situation is one of the lucky ones in comparison to families that live across borders. I have several friends at school and back home whose biggest stress over leaving campus is not just being able to find flights, but also being able to afford them. Means of travel can be a sensitive topic to some families and can unfortunately be the reason for separated holidays. 

It can be a culture shock to those whose first time being away from family during the holidays is due to college. Students before coming to school would normally be at home with their families, but, especially for those who live across borders, the distance strains this closeness. 

I have a friend here who told me about her experiences celebrating Hanukkah with her family and how it’s been rather difficult not being able to celebrate in person with them. It took quite an emotional strain for her to be without them. 

This goes for anyone who celebrates their holiday — let alone holidays that are not as equally represented — during the school year, and it’s unfortunate that students who don’t celebrate Christmas don’t get to spend as much holiday time with their families. Being able to go home is an advantage in order to celebrate with families.

Those who have the ability to afford trips and spend time with their family without school or distance getting in the way should take this holiday season as an opportunity to realize one’s privilege and come to terms with the fact that everyone has different experiences when it comes to the holidays. But most importantly, it gives the opportunity to comfort those who perhaps aren’t as fortunate during the holidays; thus giving them what is perhaps even closer when it comes to family relationships: a deep friendship instead.