If you grew up in an Italian-American Household like me, you know holiday’s are a big deal no matter what the holiday. Christmas, as well as Christmas Eve is on the top of this list. Growing up in an Italian household, you know these traditions are a must during the holiday season.

1. Decorating begins right after Thanksgiving.

2. We may go a little over the top when it comes to decorating for Christmas and enjoying the lights.

3. Real trees allowed only.

4. While decorating, Pepino The Mouse (and other Italian Christmas songs) are to be played. Most likely on repeat.

5. Setting up the village under the tree is non-negotiable.

6. Christmas Eve is just as much of a celebration as Christmas Day

7. Having the entire family included, both days. Spending essentially two full days with your family.

8. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve mainly revolve around food so…

9. Most of both days are spent cooking, laughing, and feasting with your loved ones.

10. Pasta and sauce (gravy) is served at every holiday, no questions asked.

11. The sauce MUST be homemade. None of the fake sauce allowed.

12. Ricotta cookies are a must when it comes to holiday baking and…

13. Cannoli’s are not to be excluded from the dessert plate.

14. Lots of Italian wines are also included during all holiday festivities

15. Celebrating the Novena starting 8 days before Christmas.

16. Having your typical overabundance spread of food throughout the day while…

17. Dealing with trying to explain to people that you’re not yelling, you’re just Italian and you’re just talking.

18. You celebrate all your blessings but mostly the blessing of having a big family because being Italian-American is Knowing that family is the most important thing in the world.

19. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is a must go to.

20. Christmas Eve ends with putting Baby Jesus in his manger before bed.

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time to spread thankfulness and joy to others. I love my traditions, I love my family and I love my heritage. I wouldn’t want to spend my holiday any other way. No matter your heritage or your traditions, enjoy the time with your family and enjoy your holiday!A

I was blessed when the most amazing guys I’ll ever meet walked into my life and we just clicked. So, even when I want to punch every one of you and when I don’t say it enough… here is my thank you to you boys.

First of all, thank you for being completely platonic with me. Thank you for being living proof that guys and girls can be just friends without the weirdness and the awkwardness that everyone seems to think comes with it. Weekly sleepovers and dinners with you guys were never weird and drunk nights just ended with us eating pizza, drinking more, and screaming to Blink 182 as loud as we could. So thank you for allowing me to hang out with you without ever worrying about being hit on. 

Thank you for thinking of me as just one of the guys when we hang out. You don’t treat me differently. Hanging out with just the guys was never something I would dread. You talked about sports, girls, and video games and let me have my input and opinion. You bully me just like you do to each other. Thank you for not being weird and proper around me and for talking to me like I was just another guy.

Thank you for being one of the girls for me. You let me be one of the guys and you act as one of the girls for me. You give me advice when I ask you what outfit looks good and if I have too much makeup on. You gossip with me and help me keep up with celebrities lives. You talk about boys, relationships, and other people with me. So, thank you for being one of the girls, too.

Thank you for never leaving me.  I mean this both literally and figuratively. Thank you for not leaving me when I was stuck at the bar with just the guys for the weekend. I appreciate all the times I would get stuck a few steps behind you guys and I would hear you say that you need to find me before you do anything else. And thank you for always being in my life. Even when we’re living miles apart from each other I know you boys are just a call away. Thank you for reminding me you’re always there.

Thank you for listening and for being honest. Thank you for letting me complain about the same guy to you over and over again and waiting until I was finished talking to you to tell me that I’m being dumb and need to move on. Thank you for listening to the more serious topics as well and giving me the best advice and hugs when I needed it. You tell me when I’m right, but you’re not afraid to tell me when I’m being dramatic too. Thank you for listening to all my dumb stories when I tell them on a running loop and thank you for telling me to shut up when I need it.

Thank you for never judging me. No matter what stupid decision I made, how drunk I may have gotten, or when I just finished eating a box of mac and cheese to myself. You guys never passed judgment on me. I know that I can be myself around you guys and come to you with anything. So thank you for letting me be me.

Thank you for letting me be unapologetically me. I know I say weird things and eat weird foods and talk nonstop so thank you for letting me act silly and express my stupid humor. Thank you for letting me wear grey on grey and still be seen with me. You let me eat ungodly amounts of food and make jokes that nobody thinks are funny, but me. You let me drink all the beer I want and bully you guys while doing it. Thank you for letting me be me.

Thank you for being the big brother I never wanted. I came to school with zero big brothers and left with five. Every single one of you pick on me as if I were your little sister. But I know you always have my back in any situation. I always felt safe and protected when I was with you. We fight like siblings, but we love each other and take care of each other like siblings too. Thank you for becoming like family to me. I really do think of each of you as my family.

As much as I may want to hate you, boys, sometimes, I can’t. I would not have gotten through college without you. You made life worth it and you make adulting a little easier. Thank you for making me the little sister that you guys never wanted. Sorry to tell you guys, but you’re stuck with me forever and I’m okay with it.

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You girls are my family, through thick and thin you have all seen me at my absolute worst and at my best. We’re all so close that you can predict my next move and I can predict your next sentence. Sometimes I think we even share a brain and thoughts and not many people would argue with that. 

That’s why being far away from you is killing me from the inside out. 

Running to the store, getting my nails done, and hanging out around the house have not been the same without you. There are no bottles of wine, no stopping at dunkin, no countless bags of chips, no massive amounts of burritos. I miss our stupid banter, jokes that make no sense, and “remember whens.”

For most of my life, I have never been more than two and a half hours from you. Even then, we knew it was only temporary and it wasn’t for longer than a few weeks at a time. Girls nights, movie nights, and running errands together are just a few things I know I can count on you for. And now I’m struggling finding people who even slightly compare to how amazing you guys are.

No matter who I meet or how many friends I make, nobody can replace you. Our friendship is too strong and we have been through too much for anybody to interfere. I could meet great people and make great friends, but I know those will not compare to the bond we have spent countless hours and days building up over the years. 

I do have to thank you. From miles and miles away, I can still count on you. You’re just a text or a phone call away. Distance sometimes makes some friendships fizzle and fade out. I know that is not the case with you. I can call you when I need you and you can always call me when you need me. We haven’t let any distance in the past fizzle out our outrageous friendship in the past and we haven’t started now.

I appreciate that you didn’t forget about me, it could’ve been so easy too with life always getting in the way of things. Instead, you kept me updated on your lives and what was going on in our painfully small towns. 

Not much goes on in our very small towns, but when something does, you make sure that I don’t miss a single detail. I appreciate that you haven’t shut me out of your lives since I’m not around. 

Being away from you has been hard, but I truly believe that it’s only making our friendship stronger. We have been through so much already and this is just another notch in our belts. 

Different schools, colleges, and towns have not changed anything, there’s nothing in this world that can get in between our forever friend bond. 

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Dear college senior,

I too was in your current position and trust me…I was just as lost as you are. I thought that by senior year I would have my life planned out and know every step I would take to get to my goals. I was so wrong on that and I wish somebody would have told me that as a freshman.

Senior year is a big pot of emotions that nobody knows how to deal with. There’s excitement, anxiousness, sadness, eagerness, confusion, and so many others. You’ve seen friends transfer in and out, graduate, and do some amazing things that you’re so proud of them for. We all can’t help but think of the future and what we’re doing right when we dare I say it…graduate.

Live in the moment. Take senior year day by day. Enjoy every second we have left. I think that sometimes we’re so busy trying to plan out the future that we’re getting ahead of ourselves and we’re missing the time we have left with our friends. I spent my weekends hanging out with my friends and enjoying whatever time I had left at this school that somehow became my home, not worrying about that I’m doing the day after I graduate.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could rewind back to freshman year when we just moved in, terrified, lonely, and ready to take on this new journey. Four years later, I’m wishing more than anything to go back to those days. But as much as I wish I could go back, I’m so happy to be where I am today. Looking back, I’ve grown and learned so much and I’m so thankful for everybody (maybe not everybody) that I’ve met on my journey.

Take the time to enjoy your senior year and your friends. After this, things will never be the same again. You’re going to miss your friends, those bars, the small mom and pop places in town, and sometimes even your broken down apartments.

Sincerely,

A fellow graduate

Dear incoming college freshman,

        College is a new and exciting experience. It is a time to discover yourself, to make new friends, new memories, and to have the time of your life. Leaving your home may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done or something you’ve been waiting on for months now. Either way, make the most of it.

        Going into freshman year, I never knew that the people in my hall would become the people I trust the most in my life. I know it’s not like that for everyone, but I was lucky. My hall was filled with the most amazing people I have ever met in my life and as a college senior; they are still my core group of friends. None of that would have happened if I didn’t open up my door (literally) to them. Don’t be afraid to make new friends. Put yourself out there. Well, because everyone else is in the same boat as you.

        Some people may disagree, but try to stay at school on the weekend. You went away to college for a reason. Have the time of your life and live it up, because you will miss it. The weekends are the times when you can hang out with your friends, roommates, and hall all day long with no responsibilities. That’s when bonds are formed and memories are made. I loved waking up with my roommates on the weekends and going for breakfast and just talking about everything and anything.

        Take advantage of professor’s office hours. Go to them, all the time, even for little questions. Even if you have an awful professor, go to office hours. You’d be surprised how much better someone can be one on one rather than in a big group. You might also score some brownie points and they might bump up your grade because you care.

        Get involved. I can’t stress this enough. Sure your grades and your friends are important, but you also have to think about your resume. It’s a great way to meet new people and you’ll have so many opportunities you might not have taken advantage of otherwise. I can personally say I would have never gone out to do the color run, or relay for life, or so many other events that I love if it wasn’t for getting involved in an organization.

        Always remember that your family is still at home and they love you. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t wait to get away to school or if it was the hardest thing you’ve ever done, your family is missing you just as much as you miss them. When I was at school, I made sure to always text or call my parents once a day or a week at least (or else I would get a text asking if I forgot who they were). You’re both making an adjustment and sometimes they need the reassurance that everything is okay more than you do.

        Just remember to live it up and take advantage of every opportunity you have because they won’t come around again. Appreciate it while you still have time. It goes so much quicker than you think and you’ll wish you could slow down time.

Sincerely,

A very sad to be graduated college alumni

We live in a society where we read magazines that tell you to love yourself on one page, how to lose 5lbs in 7 days on the next, and a cake recipe on the next. In a world made to make us constantly want to change ourselves, we sometimes lose sight of how important self-love is. 

Society paints a picture for us of how we “should” look. And if you don’t look like that girl in the magazine…well good luck. “Remember, the girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the magazine.” There’s no one way that you should look or act or feel. We are entirely too hard on ourselves. 

Just because someone is beautiful does not make us ugly. Just because someone is intelligent, we are not dumb. Just because someone is successful does not mean that we are failures. Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. Comparisons are the route of self-hatred. Own who you are, every part of you.

So many people struggle with self-love. It’s sad we live in a world where we feel compelled to enlarge every small flaw we have and focus in on them instead of focusing on the positive aspects of our lives. With all that we are taught throughout our lives, nobody really teaches you to love yourself as you are because it’s so important.

Loving every part of yourself is the first step in things finally falling into place. Become a priority in your life and talk to yourself like you would to somebody you love. Don’t let society’s distorted view stop you from seeing your beauty. 

Sit back, take a look at your life. See your beauty, your accomplishments, the way you’re growing, and all you have faced that made you who you are. See others beauty without questioning your own.