I can honestly say that there are few feelings I find as satisfying as writing a good story. When the plot comes together and metaphorical ink starts to flow, I’m filled with a sense of ease. I plan to make this sensation a regular rather than a rarity this winter. 

In this past year, I have made steady and significant process on my novel, tentatively titled Crossing the Line, and I hope to make significant more in this coming month. If I persevere, I believe that I can even get an entire rough draft ready, start to finish, and then start the revision process in this coming year.

I can hope, but ultimately, I will have to put in the hard work. Frankly, I am eager to try it. After the exhausting semester of my senior year in undergrad, I am welcoming winter vacation with open arms.

On top of the writing, I am also eager to implement a little life change: From this year onwards, I am going to endeavor to celebrate a day apart from Christmas Day. I thought about this for a week, actually, trying to decide what would be worth celebrating or if I should invent my own, personal holiday, and I’ve come to a conclusion:

This winter onwards, I will be celebrating the Winter Solstice, or Midwinter.

Some people might find this newly adopted tradition of mine strange, but these past few years, Christmas Day has meant little to me, and though I understand its importance in Christianity, the fact that it was a day selected for celebration rather than the actual birthdate of Christ has always dulled the brightness of the magic for me.

The fact of the matter is, there is nothing inherently special about Christmas Day. It is what society makes of it, and if you are spending Christmas Day alone or in a society that does not put much stock in it, then it can feel dishearteningly unremarkable.

However, the Winter Solstice is a natural phenomenon – the longest night of the year – and regardless of whether others celebrate it or not, there will always be something special about the night. The solstice happens right in the heart of the holiday season, so I can continue festivities with friends who celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas, and I can still exchange gifts around the same time.

The Winter Solstice is particularly fitting for me because I have always preferred the night, when everyone else sleeps. It’s when I bond with my friends, when I dream, when I write – the longest night of the year, then, seems worth celebrating.

2017 is finally coming to a close, and I am eager to see what the year has left for me. As long as it’s not another US political controversy, I plan to meet it head on.