BY HARNOOR GILL
Grade 11 student
Christ The King Catholic Secondary
Georgetown, Ontario
DURING the holidays, people usually visit family to celebrate Christmas or they are excited about the New Year. Either way, there is a celebration or tradition out there that you or your family participates in annually during this break. Being able to spend time with loved ones is a great way to simply just be you.
Recently, I had the opportunity to go to a traditional family gathering with three or four other families that my parents were close friends with. What I remember the most about the experience and what was most touching was to see how laidback everyone was. I was having such a good time playing games such as bingo or guessing famous actors in bizarre movies. It made me realize that being able to be in one of these gatherings is a great social call to accept because it helps you to build self-esteem and confidence in yourself.
I even had the amazing opportunity to be able to talk to a senior person who was visiting from India. He talked about some wise things, which included that sometimes you just need a lot of patience to put up with family members because at the end of the day they will always be with you.
Regardless of those arguments or misunderstandings you have ever had with members in your family, you will still always be loved by them. This is the sole reason why family gatherings in a traditional fashion are essential in one’s life because it creates a platform of acceptance and social security among people that you are really close to.
He also mentioned that the key to longevity and peace of mind is to accept members of family for who they are and don’t try to change their motives unless they are bad. Bad wouldn’t mean not doing what you intended for them to do but bad in the context of drug abuse, alcohol abuse or any other abuse that would be looked down upon.
No matter what conditions exist in the household, the key to success is spending time together as a family. I don’t mean popping in a movie in the Blu-ray player but I mean spending time cooking together, bowling night or any other interactive activity that wouldn’t allow others to check their phones ever so often.
I felt that his life lessons should be shared with everyone that I know which is why I decided to write this article about spending time together as a family, because at the end of the day, family always comes first!
So this holiday season, be sure to sit down and enjoy yourself with the holiday spirit along with your family. Numerous activities that can be taken with your family include (but are not limited to0 skiing, snowboarding, skating, tubing, tobogganing, ball hockey or just building a snowman. Make sure that you do take some time out of your busy schedules to accommodate your family’s needs and stay safe while having fun!
