Growing up, this time of year was always my favorite, and I think it's safe to assume it was so many other's favorite as well. A lot of things- good and bad- come with growing up. One of the bad things being, as we get older we start to see the side of the holidays that aren't as joyful as they seemed to be growing up, but the holidays are still the holidays. I get that it loses some of its spark as we start to get older, but it still holds the same potential. The holidays will always deserve, if not need, a childlike sense of joy. If we don't embrace it, we'll never appreciate it the same way again.

Our perspective changes as we age, and for most things that's good, but for this time of year that's not necessarily the case.As a college student, the holidays can prove to have it's downsides. With challenges like giving all the right gifts and managing time properly presenting themselves, it's easy to take a negative stance on the holidays, but it's not entirely necessary. There's still so much good to come out of this time of year.

Although the holidays seem to be getting more commercialized with every passing year, it's no reason to dislike the season itself. Giving gifts is fun (and who are we kidding, so is receiving them), but it's not what makes this time of year so special. Fortunately, if you disagree with this part of the holidays, you can freely opt out of it.

Something that's always been a popular complaint around the holiday season is spending time with family. We all have a family member who can be a little much (honestly, I could be that for my family), and it might be easy to get annoyed and not want to spend time with them, but I refuse to complain about it. I love my family, and I love spending time with them. Getting older is weird, because you start to become more independent and opinionated. That could cause a lack of desire to spend time with family, but it's important to remember that they are one of the best things life has to offer. Our families have spent so many years making our holidays special, the least they deserve is for us all to come together from our separate lives and enjoy each other's company for a few days.

Even though it's sometimes difficult to see passed materialistic things and crazy family gatherings, the Christmas season is more than that. As cheesy as it is, it's a time of year that inspires so many positive emotions and encourages the goodness of humanity. So I challenge everyone to look beyond the cons of the holidays and enjoy the pros of the season, because it really does make this time of year so much better.