'Tis the Season

December 1st marked the start of LMU's official holiday season with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. The festivities draw thousands of LMU students, faculty, alumni, and community members. From cookies and hot chocolate to the token Christmas Tree Lighting mug, this event begins the Christmas season.

Last year, I waited in line for nearly two hours to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. It was so worth it, and I vividly remember how happy I was trotting around campus. Still, I was finding my place at LMU, and at the end of my first semester, I struggled to find where I fit in among all the people.

This year, I drank hot chocolate and enjoyed the choir performances while staking out a better seat to see the tree. Throughout the night, I saw hundreds of people I now know, from students about to graduate, to my own classmates, to my residents. I loved sitting in one place and letting the excitement surround me; this year, I knew where I belonged.

Christmas seems far away, but I am definitely in the winter spirit. The chilly morning air and glorious decorations across campus are giving me the push I need to get through my three massive papers that are still merely outlines.

So this Advent season, I am renewed in the spirit of my campus and my colleagues that remind me of the sacramentality found in community, the Divine in each of us. I see the Good every day in the people that make me smile, laugh, cry, and argue all over my little slice of this world. I look to them for the strength to finish this rollercoaster semester, and I draw upon my own solace in knowing that I belong here, under the lights of that tree.