GIFTS.

Lately, I haven't really been as into the whole "gifts" part of Christmas. I mean, I like giving them and all. And I love seeing all the presents under the tree. But I don't really get excited about opening them anymore. Part of it is because now that I'm older, I help my parents pick out what I want and it's not really a surprise. But I also don't think that opening gifts is the most important part of Christmas. The Christmas season is religious, and is important to my faith. But it is also about family- getting together with your loved ones and kind of taking a break from all the crazy-ness in your life and being together. However, this year, I opened two of the best gifts I have ever received in my life, and reminded me that sometimes, it is important to receive graciously as well.

One amazing gift came from my little brother, Peter. Peter is truly one of my best friends- I mean I tell him EVERYTHING and trust him with all of my secrets. This Christmas, he was going on and on about how excited he was to give me his gift. I didn't have any idea what it was, but I definitely was not as excited as he was. When I opened the gift from my brother, I almost cried. See, my brother is in this class at school called Digital Design. Their latest project was to make a cup, and they etched on a design. I don't really know how it works. But my brother, being the little sweetheart that he is, gave me the cup he made in his class. It was so special. He knows I am a cray cray Harry Potter fan, and he made me a Harry Potter cup with my initials on it! It has the symbol of the Deathly Hallows and the quote from Dumbledore "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live". !!!!!!! So not only was the cup awesome because it was a freaking sweet Harry Potter cup, but the fact that my brother put so much time and effort into it made me feel so loved. The love he put into making the cup made it so much more special, and the best gift I ever received.

But the love didn't stop there. On Christmas day, I went on facebook only to find a message from a friend. Now, I have been feeling sort of down lately, nothing too major, just normal teenage stuff, but I was feeling REALLY crappy last weekend. Well, this friend wrote to me pretty much thanking me for being who I am, always being a positive person and smiling and all that sort of stuff. It was so sweet of him to write me such a kind note, and made me feel SO good inside. I don't think he knows quite how much it meant to me to hear him say that.

Basically, I felt really special this Christmas. Two friends went out of their way to let me know that I was special and important to them. I wish there was some way that I could thank both of them for what they did and tell them how much it meant to me, but as of now, I am totally stumped for ideas. However, this Christmas has taught me that although it is very important to give- both to loved ones and the community- it is just as important to receive gifts- whether they come in the form of kind words from a friend or in boxes covered with wrapping paper.