“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” –Burton Hillis
LIVING away from home is but a hard situation one can ever endure.
Unlike other students who think that living independently from their family would slacken off their busy college lives and give them more time for good time and partying, some, including myself, think otherwise. Although living alone creates opportunity for self-development, one can only get to endure missing their mother’s delicacies, their siblings’ naughty yet thoughtful gestures, and even their loyal neighborhood friends.
When I entered the University a few years ago, I needed to sacrifice living with my family. After confirming my enrollment in the University, I shifted from the quiet streets of Mindoro to the busy roads of Manila.
Apart from making some adjustments, homesickness is what I have to stand after almost two years of living away from my family. Every day seems a coping moment. The nostalgia further persists as the Yuletide season approaches. I miss my loved ones more at times like this, when everyone gets to be with their family but I just don’t have the means to visit home.
Every little Christmas decoration I see or song I hear reminds me of how blissful celebrating the holidays with my family would be. When I was still with them, we used to put up and lit the Christmas tree, decorate our house with colorful lights, and even wrap and open our holiday presents together.
But since I am bound to be at school until the vacation begins, I cannot help but wait to finally go back home and spend the season with them. If there’s any consolation, the thought of being with them once more excites me and even inspires me to perform well in school. I want to bring home with me achievements that will truly make them happy.
But as I long for my family, I can hardly imagine the longing of people who also want to spend time with their beloved but simply can’t.
Christmas must be hard for orphaned street children who are deprived of a family they can call their own. It must be frustrating for the sick who miss the celebration because of their infirmities and disabilities and the millions of overseas Filipino workers who endure the pain of physical distance just to earn their family’s living. I know how tear-jerking it is for people to celebrate without their dearly loved who just departed.
Unfortunate am I though for living away from my family, I can still consider myself fortunate for having a true home that houses the best Christmas present one can ever receive.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for letting us experience this wonderful season of Your birth. May this season be a celebration of Your glory and make all of us feel its true meaning. Guide those who cannot spend Christmas with their beloved. May distance not hinder the joy of the season. And for those who get the chance of spending it with their family, may we learn to be grateful for having them in this wonderful time. Amen. Mark Cezar C. Sucgang
Pre-Commerce sophomore Mark Cezar C. Sucgang is the news editor of the Commerce Journal, the official student publication of the College of Commerce.
