With the holidays coming up, the magic of Christmas has been replaced by the stress of the A.C.E schedule. This school’s finals consist of tests, projects or presentations. The exams given by teachers prior to winter break are the most stressful compared to the presentation of projects. The A.C.E week at the end of the semester have put a lot of stress on students causing the Christmas spirit to become nonexistent until finals are done. Since school does not end until Dec. 22, there is not much time to enjoy the Christmas season because studying takes up majority of the month. If you travel, you’ll lose even more of that time before Christmas. While many people start decorating for Christmas the day after Halloween, I think Thanksgiving weekend is the right time to decorate. However, this only allows me one weekend to enjoy the magic of Christmas because the following weeks are all for studying. The school board does not allow for any extra credit so the only time to increase your grade is during A.C.E week, which adds on to the stress. Students feel overwhelmed by their many responsibilities not only school-related but also extracurricular. They feel more inclined to spend their time caring for their test than spending quality holiday time with loved ones.

For me, it takes a few days to come down from the high stress that finals bring me by either watching TV or just being on my phone so that also takes up some of my Christmas time. Since grades to the teachers are due in the end of January allows for everyone to stress out because of the anticipation for the grades.  Everyone responds to stress in different ways physical, emotional, and psychological. The older you get the fewer people that believe in Santa, losing that whole idea of Christmas for you. With the weather being cold, you just want to stay at home and sleep but with finals you have to study. A.C.E week is too fast-paced and makes it harder to slow down and enjoy the little moments throughout the Christmas season. So for you to take little moments throughout your week to enjoy anything Christmas like listening to Christmas music, decorating your tree, or baking Christmas cookies would help your Christmas spirit be lifted a little more before Christmas break.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Elise McAndrews at [email protected].