“I remember Christmas when I was little, and we all had matching pajamas. We’d sit in front of the tree and open presents. We’d all been drowning in red, green and gold floods of wrapping paper. As we grew up, the presents changed, and the joy has shifted. One of the strangest Christmases for me was when we first moved. There was no snow on the shrubs and tree branches. It was probably about 68 outside. We still wore matching pajamas, and we still let the wrapping paper shreds surround us. Around Christmas time when we first moved to Green Bay, I remember the warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was snow once again. My family has always been my steady throughout the holiday season. It has always felt all right when I was around them. . And this is one of my last holiday seasons with my family. It’s going to be a strange December next year, when I’m cramming for finals or wrapping garland poorly around a shabby Charlie Brown style tree in my dorm. But, for me, Christmas is family.”