We are in a season of giving surrounded and spotted by holidays. November and December are a time we give thanks, love, and happiness, but this isn’t the only things I’ve seen shared so far. Political views, colds, and stomach aches from overeating are among the few I’ve seen given as well, however I believe we should be making more efforts to give kindness, whether it be conscious or unconsciously. This season the Freshman class and our school have been going out of our way to do so.

This Thanksgiving Break I went on a mission. Student Senate donated fifty dollars to each grade, only combining the seventh and eighth grade due to them not being old enough to have Class Officers through National Junior Honor Society, so we could buy food for our school wide food drive. As Vice President of both the Class of 2020 and National Junior Honor Society, I was expected to help out the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. So I decided to start with the youngest grades.

My advisor and my mother generously gave me advice on how to go about getting the most nutritious food for our dollar, so we headed out to the stores. Luckily, this was not on Black Friday, or I would have been trampled. So I grabbed a cart and hunted down aisles for the best deals. Ramen noodles, of course, were the cheapest, since you could get packs of them for a dollar, but their nutritional value was so low that we decided we couldn’t buy it for this cause. Instead, we found marked down prices on great canned food items! Potatoes, beets, green beans, and corn were all sixty nine cents allowing us to get seventy two cans(because we cannot forget tax)! It was amazing and it created a warm feeling inside, because you knew you were doing this for a greater good. Plus, we got an extra twenty cents off because of our valiant cause.

I’m very excited to go about this shopping extravaganza again tomorrow for Class Office with my other advisor. We plan to go back to the same store and hunt for more marked down prices! The rest of the week, Student Senate, another club in which I participate, is also hosting a school wide food drive for this week and Penny Wars, next week, for a charity of our choosing. The food will go to the Scotch Church Food Drive being held on the 16th of December and will be sorted by NJHS. Penny Wars will be a competition between the grades for the highest points. Each penny is a positive point, a nickel, dime, quarter, or any dollar bill is a negative point for whatever their penny equivalent is. (Example: 1 nickel = -5 pennies/points)  This money will be going to a good cause selected by the club.

I enjoy and do not fear these these good deeds, but I highly fear other aspects of the holidays. One thing I, as a Freshman, fear is losing tradition. I fear this because I have seen tradition continued throughout my life for so long, that I can’t bear someone else not having the special something to look forward to every year. My family and I have many traditions, like getting our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and taking it down the day after Christmas and celebrating Kūčios, which is a Lithuanian tradition. However, the school has traditions too! One is that the day before break, the Elementary school hosts a holiday celebration in the auditorium, which this year the Galway PTSA Competition Dance Team will be performing at for the first time. Every time I perform amongst my peers I am always petrified, but thankfully a supportive group and a brightly lit stage can push you away from stage fright. Although I fear this stage fright, I know in the future I will be terrified to see this aspect of the celebration go when I graduate.

Another tradition is the high school’s spirit week, which will be on the week of the 19th! This year Monday is Comfy Cozy Day, Tuesday is Holiday/Ugly Sweater Day, Wednesday is Twin  Day, and Thursday is Blue and Gold Day! During this week the classes will not be decorating hallways due to new fire codes, which is a huge change from past years and a disappointing topic for many students. Students will possibly instead be decorating their own lockers along with their classmates to decide, which teacher will kiss the pig during the pep rally! I fear that these changes will not only continue to discourage students from becoming an active part of their graduating class, but make the holiday season less enjoyable for them.

All in all, I am looking forward to celebrations to come and the New Year. I apologize for not posting last week to my readers due to an overload of homework, which you can read about in my last article, Freshman Fears: Report Cards and Homework. Please stay tuned for new articles in the Freshman Fears series and if you have any topics that you would like me to discuss, please comment below. Happy Holidays!