“WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?”

“What would you like for Christmas?” “What do you want
for your birthday?” I feel like we have all been asked
this question several times throughout our lifetimes. The
most recent time I was asked this was a couple of weeks
ago, when I was at the mall with a friend. We were walking
around Forever 21, when she suddenly turned to me
and said “I want to get you a Christmas present, what do
you like?” Now, the thing about me, is that I never know
what I want for a present. I’m probably the worst person
to shop for, or with, because I never know what I want
and—added to that—I am extremely indecisive. In fact,
I recently had family from India visit, who wanted to buy
my sister and a gift. My sister picked out some clothes,
but it took me two days, two malls and several stores
before I finally ending up a small water bottle. That’s how
bad I am with shopping and buying things. And it’s not
that I’m ungrateful, it’s that I don’t like spending money
on items that will be used once and then ignored for
years, before eventually being thrown away. The water
bottle I bought was value for money, which is what is
most important for me when I buy something.
So, when my friend asked me what I wanted for
Christmas, it took me a while before I said “anything
related to Harry Potter would be great.” Later on at home,
I found funny little knick-knacks and cute items online
and I jokingly sent a picture to my friend saying, “here’s
something else you could get me.” And while a Harry
Potter related t-shirt, a cute bracelet or a mug with the
Beauty and the Beast characters posted onto it would
be nice, is that really what I want for Christmas? Or for
my birthday? I feel like I would be lying if I said yes.
Because, while I would love to have those things, adulthood
has shown me that there are more important, albeit
difficult to get, things I want.
What do I really want? Well, that’s two-fold. First of all,
since this is the season of giving, let’s talk about what I
want for other people. And that is peace. I’m not going
to start talking politics here. I have my views, my family
and friends know these views, and personally I don’t like
sharing my political views with people I don’t personally
know. So, leaving that aside, there is no denying that we
are living in trying times. Every time you turn on the news
there is talk of grief or loss or pain. And I just want all that
to stop. I want the kind acts to increase and the horrible
acts to decrease. I want to hear about people doing good
deeds for one another, and not about people causing
pain to someone. I want the violence, the pain and the
hate to stop. That’s what I want.
But, more selfishly, what I
really want is for this semester
of classes to be finished
so that I can relax. Even now,
with the semester winding
down and me having only
a few smaller assignments
and two major assignments
left, I am still not completely
relaxed. Of course, seeing
that I overloaded myself
with assignments early in the
semester by working ahead,
the stress of assignments has
diminished; but only slightly.
I still have a detailed paper
and a long-term investigative
project to work on, and
I will extremely glad when
December 11th rolls around
and I can say “I’m done!’ Well, until the next round of
classes start. And what I also want, which I know will
never happen, is to be able to see the future. I want to
know that everything I am doing right now, is putting me
onto the path of having a happy, healthy and successful
future. I want all of my family and friends to lead happy,
healthy and successful lives. I want all of their stresses
and struggles to disappear. I want everyone to be completely,
100 percent, without-a-doubt, happy and content
with their lives.
SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
AND THEN, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR
CHRISTMAS?