Tag: Holidays

Like a summer night

When December came around last year, my family was anticipated to spend the holidays together since my brother and sister-in-law comes down from New Jersey to spend Christmas. During Christmas Eve last year, we were all feeling low on the holiday spirit, so we decided to drive to downtown Raleigh to see the lights. It was disappointing to see there were no holiday lights displayed even during Christmas. On Christmas day though, we took a casual stroll around the nearby neighborhoods, and we came by a house where the family put on a synchronized light show with a rotating playlist with each song presenting a different color theme and animations. Later onwards, we came to know that the family dedicated their lights show in honor of their 2-year old baby who passed away from spinal muscular atrophy.

I think a lot of us would describe these past two years to be fairly unstable with a lot of racial tension, political riots, unprecedented job losses, lack of predictable income, and most especially, loss of our dear loved ones. Prior to the pandemic, I was lucky enough to experience my college life to the fullest with lots of adventure and constantly having things to do. However, when the pandemic hit, and we were left with no other choice other than to quarantine at home, it really hit me hard. A few months into the pandemic, I almost felt as if I hit a rock bottom and was unconsciously returning back to my older version of myself. Even though I was working hard for my post-bac and grad school applications, I was very self-conscious of whether I was wasting my life by staying at home. By the end of last year, I think people become so attuned to this reality; also, more prepared to still deal with all those problems this year.

Within these past two years, like so many others, I have faced rejections, meltdowns, self-doubts, and failures. But as much as overwhelming has it been, it has been self-healing at the same time. The year 2021 brought in an abundance of growth, learning, and self-fulfillment. From navigating a big career switch to traveling more often, I feel so privileged to be where I am right now. Neither did I relocate to New York nor did I get accepted into PT school, but I am more than content with where I am right now. I feel so happy to end this past year with God blessing me with a job that keeps me happy and one that opens new doors for traveling the world. Lastly, this Christmas was an utmost blessing with being able to spend it at home with my family and a new baby just like how God sent his son to bring the hope of fresh beginnings and the awareness of what utter innocence looks like.

Secret Santa

Just a few weeks ago, a teenager came into the grocery store where I work. When it was time for her to pay the bill, her eyes looked so helpless. Her son who was only 3 or 2 years old was sitting in the cart crying. She looked frustrated searching for extra cash in her bag to pay the remaining balance. A gentleman next in line was so kind and willing to pay for her entire grocery.

I remember a long time back, a day before Christmas Eve, my family was driving back home from a road trip. We stopped at a restaurant to eat something. It was almost midnight and we weren’t familiar with the road. We were all tired and starving, we just wanted something to grab a bite. Everybody in the restaurant was dressed up really nice. I was slightly embarrassed to go in there because we looked like someone from the street. We just ordered a whole pizza for all us. That was the only cheapest item on the menu. As we were eating, a gentleman who was sitting right across us walked to our table and put a 20 dollar bill. We were awestruck as he wished us happy holidays. He walked away so quickly we didn’t even get a chance to thank him. We didn’t know who he was or if we’ll ever see him again, but we were so flattered by his kind gesture.

Since the holidays are just around the corner, the act of kindness and giving is in the air. Back when we used to live in New Jersey, my parents had literally nothing in their pockets. It was our first Christmas here 14 years ago, but we knew we were unfortunate to get any gifts. I was so jealous when the kids at school talked about what they wanted for Christmas. Just a week before Christmas Eve, the priest from the parish church let us know that a anonymous family wants to donate gifts and money for us. Just after coming back from Christmas Eve mass, we saw five towers of presents stacked next to the tree in the living room. The room looked so lit with the lights and all the gifts. We didn’t want to wait until the next morning to open the presents. We were so thrilled and filled with excitement as we were unwrapping all the boxes. That Christmas still remains to be my favorite holiday even after all these years. We woke up the next morning seeing snow for the very first time. I believed god was showering my family with his glory as we began a new life. As Christmas is approaching, I think it’s very nice to do a random act of kindness every day in the spirit of this holiday season.