To further the Christmas spirit around campus in the form of the glowing tree sitting in the fountain, garlands adorning the Caf, and the giant Elf-Man passing out miniature candy canes (oh the irony) earlier this week, let us take a stroll through the next nine days of the semester and different things you could do to celebrate this glorious time.
Day One, Thursday Dec. 6th: Winter Wonderland
The Board has been working tirelessly to make this event incredible. I can’t say enough about it, because, um hello, there will be hot chocolate and a performance by our very own AKB and ice skating and smiling and hugging and friends and magic. So go. Words do not even explain the epic-ness of this event.
Day Two, Friday Dec. 7th: Yarns of Joy
Wear a Christmas sweater. And please, for me, wear one that has light-up ornaments or clashing fabrics/colors. The tackier the better.
Day Three, Saturday Dec. 8th: Christmas Carols at the Cross
The Elf-Man would approve of this one, as the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear. And singing loud for all to hear while hiking to the famous Pepperdine Cross that, in my opinion, every student should visit at least once. Great cardio to prepare for all those baked goods that your mom will be force-feeding you (can anyone say cinnamon-sugar pull-apart buns?!) over break. Great company aka your friends that you will drag along. And a great view of one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. Also, you can “fa la la la la la la la la” and “Grandma got run over by a reindeer” all the way there and back. Exercise the body, exercise the golden pipes, just exercise all around.
Day Four, Sunday Dec. 9th: Go to church.
No, but seriously. Church is great at this time of year. I mean, personally, I really like church. Even if you’re not a church-person, I think you should go if only for this reason: churches usually have choirs. Those choirs range from mediocre to really good, but sometimes churches also have a full-out orchestra. Either way, church at Christmastime equals various renditions of “O Holy Night”. And it’s awesome. Hey, gotta get my Christmas-music saturation while I can, right?
Day Five, Monday Dec. 10th: Don’t Stress About Finals.
It’s only the first day. ‘Nuff said.
Day Six, Tuesday Dec. 11th: Photoshoot at the HAWC
Go check out the picture-opportunity-area at the HAWC. It’s adorable and a perfect location to take a picture which you will snapchat to all your friends with the caption “Merry Christmas Friends! #myschoolisbetterthanyours”. I can’t even tell you how many times I have seen that hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter in relation to Pepperdine. I say keep it up.
Day Seven, Wednesday Dec. 12th: Don’t Go to Convo
Because there won’t be convo. So that means you can study instead, yay! Geez, don’t give me death glares. Okay, fine, if you’re really desperate for something besides school, I guess you could, like, I don’t know…go kiss someone under mistletoe. I dare you. Go grab your crush, drag him/her to the nearest piece of shrubbery, tell him/her it is mistletoe, then plant one on him/her. And then let me know (taylor.nam@pepperdine.edu) how it goes.
Day Eight, Thursday Dec. 13th: Drink Apple Cider
Or your holiday drink of choice. Just drink it. Forget the calories, they don’t count during the holidays anyway.
Day Nine, Friday Dec. 14th: Say Good-bye.
Yeah, we won’t really talk about this one. We’ll save that for next week’s article. Because good-byes, if I can speak so plainly, suck. They just do. But it’s okay because good-byes just mean hellos on the other end. And if good-byes suck, then it means that the good-bye is with someone who means a lot and who has changed your life in some way and who will always define your freshman or sophomore or junior or senior fall semester. But, again, not talking about good-byes until we absolutely have to.
Stay Christmas-y, my friends. Enjoy everything this season has to offer from songs to mistletoe to friends and family. It’s okay to just stop sometimes and stare at the fantastic people around you and enjoy the sparkly lights everywhere. Ayo waves.
