By Addison Brenton
Student Writer
Addison Brenton is a 9th grade student of Crooms Academy of Information Technology.
The holidays have always been quite chaotic, yet I’ve always liked them regardless. They’ve been the only kind of noisy environment I can handle to this day. The bright cheery laughs, the borderline overwhelming lights, the intense scents of multiple different clashing foods and all the textures of everything from napkins to blankets. In any other situation I’d be overwhelmed, I’d leave, but for some reason I stay.
Now I’d never thought I had any traditions, I always thought that traditions had to be atypical and that everything my family does was normal to do at the holidays. Yet that is far from the case, like the rush to put up decor all on December 1st, or the constant switching between what house we celebrated at, or even the fact we celebrate Christmas at 2 different times and at 2 different houses. As on Christmas Eve the entire family - in-laws, grandparents, cousins, nephews and all - gathers at my Nan’s house to celebrate together. We all gather in her small living room around the almost-quite-too tall Christmas Tree, and trade gifts and have lots of fun talking. While it’s a little much - as it gets quite loud - I’ve tried to stay as long as I can in years past.
Alas, as seasons change this will likely change, since it’s become hard to all cram together in my Nan’s living room, especially with some of the younger kids. Something which was not an issue when we first began to gather there a few years ago, neither was the strain of having 30-some people in a house. But I’m not quite sure I’ll miss this, sure, I love traditions. But sometimes you outgrow some traditions, and some traditions outgrow you. But as old traditions change or fall to the wayside, there’s room for new traditions. Traditions that sprout and grow like my beloved pothos or my mother’s flowers, one which with curation will grow into something that can be cherished. Obviously, having a small disconnect in the family is saddening, but I will not miss having to fight over who gets the next turn in one of the 2 bathrooms between 30 or so people.
Nowadays, I’ve been spending as much of the holidays hanging out with my family or writing my beloved fiction stories. I plan to continue doing this, and to mold new traditions like maybe a new classic movie to watch over the holidays, or perhaps bringing a family game night into the mix. But as far as my stories go, I’ve come up with an advent calendar of sorts, trying to write one small story or chapter per day about a different topic within my little world. That’s become my own sort of tradition, it’s been morphed and melded from my past traditions or aspirations, changing from a challenge to draw every day into a short story challenge. This being a challenge my family loves to hear about, since my worlds and ideas bring life and joy into just an average day. Which honestly, is something I’d recommend to everyone, instead of consuming, create it.
