This marks the last Christmas of the decade, and although all the season looks the same on the outside, the emotions behind it could not be more different. We still have the same decorations up that we do every year, and the Georgia weather has provided us with yet another green Christmas, yet somehow, coming home for the holidays just doesn't feel the same. It could be because I'm one year older, one year closer to graduating, or I'm just particularly attuned to the passage of time. Regardless of the reason, the last Christmas of the second decade of my life feels monumental, and I am more inclined to cherish my family even more deeply.

It starts with Christmas presents. It initially felt as though the holiday was losing some of its charm when I was the one wrapping all the presents and already knew what all the gifts were before Christmas morning. The days of waking up to presents under the tree were already long gone, but I felt as though I was losing the element of surprise that comes with ripping open a new gift, which used to be my favorite part of the season. However, after seeing my family member's faces light up at the sight of the gifts we had gotten one another, I realized that their reactions were a new kind of surprise that I could look forward to this time of year.

When I was younger, helping with Christmas Eve dinner meant setting the table and doing the dishes; I was rarely allowed to disturb my mother and father's culinary process. This year, however, being put in charge of executing a dish on my own was like being inaugurated into adulthood. I was able to prove that I knew what I was doing in the kitchen, and I was able to show off the cooking techniques my parents had passed down to me in my own creative way. Most importantly, I felt truly useful in a role only my parents had occupied in the Christmases of my childhood.

When it comes to traditions, I always perceived them as practices that were maintained from childhood, precious relics passed on from one year to the next. They were stable and frozen in time, just rinsed and repeated each year. This Christmas reminded me that traditions can be made, or retired, at any stage of life. Some traditions lose their charm and don't illicit the same excitement that they had in years past. When it seems like a chore more than it does a fun holiday activity, there's nothing wrong with finding something new to fulfill that same purpose - cherishing time spent with those you love. The traditions that are worth preserving will find their way into the holiday effortlessly, and new ones will form in the most unexpected ways.

This Christmas and subsequent Christmases will likely continue to feel much different than the ones of my childhood. However, the holiday has not lost its magic. The difference is that this year, instead of my parents making the holiday special for me, I get to take part in making the holiday special for everyone.