Remember how as a child, at some point in time you had a teacher force you to write, "What Christmas means to me"? I feel like an ellipses is needed in that, so let's try this again.
Remember how as a child, at some point in time you had a teacher force you to write, "What Christmas means to me..."? (Doesn't the ellipses make that much better?)
I was thinking about that today. This year for Christmas, I am sitting in my apartment in the Bronx, by myself. I chose this for myself and feel like it is the best possible way to celebrate Jesus' birth. This may sound crazy to you, but with the exciting month I have had I needed a day off. That gives me time to write this, for YOU. Without further adieu:
What Christmas Means to Me...
Christmas means to me that Christ was born. This is His day, and we should be thankful for His birth because without Him, we could not have eternal life. I believe that even Non-Christians should be thankful for this man's birth, because without Him, there would not even be the pagan form of Christmas. So non-believers say what you will, but you should give thanks to His birth even if you do not believe He is the Son of God because His day is what started all of the family gatherings.
Christmas to me means friends and family. For the first time in my adult life, I am not working in a retail environment for Christmas. And I am SO thankful for that. Anyone who has survived the horrors of working a retail job at Christmas knows that working in that environment sucks most of the joy out of the season. This is the first time in over a decade that I have CELEBRATED Christmas. In the television industry, production grinds to a halt over the last couple of weeks of December. This has given me time to spend with friends. The first day of this month I had a party that was amazing. That was followed by a week of my family being here. Since December 13th, I have not had a single day that was not spent with at least once friend (save Sundays). It has been a blessing to see all of the people who mean so much to me. Over the course of the year, I get caught up in trying to be a famous writer, actor, comic, artist, clothing designer, entrepreneur that I often do not have time for myself, much less someone else. I made it a point for this month of Christmas to celebrate friendships, because friendship is the best gift of all. I have a full slate through January 7th and after that I know it will be back to the grindstone, but for now I am enjoying a life with friends. I spent my Christmas Eve (and into Christmas morning) with Jazmin and her family. They are beautiful, loving people and I felt welcomed as if I were a part of the family. Even if I was the token white guy in the Christmas pictures. :-D
I try to not play up this part, but we all know that Christmas means gifts! I spent more on Christmas gifts this year, than in the previous 10 combined. And, I did almost all of my shopping online instead of going into Brick-and-Mortar establishments. Those employees are underpaid and under appreciated in the stores so I did not want to contribute to their work load. I firmly believe Christmas isn't about what you get, but what you give. I tell most people, "Please do not buy me anything". I've been blessed with the ability to purchase almost anything I desire. (Luckily my tastes are not lavish) I do however enjoy giving gifts. One of the top highlights of this Christmas was giving my Bestie Jazmin her gift, only to leave her speechless. It felt good. The most important gifts to me are the ones that were made by hand or that thought was put into. I never want a gift card. What I do want is home made candy. (Thanks Michelle) I never want clothes. Unless, you buy me a tie because you saw me wearing a shirt one day and thought, "Wow, I saw a tie the other day that would be the perfect match". I will not bore you with more examples because I think you get the point. I do not like people spending money on me, except my parents and (if I have one) my significant other.
Christmas is a time for happy Facebook statuses. I rarely read facebook, but I took 30 minutes today to read down my news feed to see how everyone was doing. It made me smile to see so many people happy. I wish that we all could carry the joy and love we feel in our hearts today, with us for the entirety of the year. The world would be a lot better place.
Finally, Christmas means to me that the current year is about over. A new year, and a new chapter begins one week from today. (How many of you noticed that New Year's Day is exactly one week after Christmas Day?) I have one week left to accomplish this year's goals and plan what I would like to accomplish in the coming year. For me, this past year has been the best year of my life. I would like to thank all of those that had a part in it, but I will save that for next week's blog. I usually do not make New Year's Resolutions, but my resolution for 2012 is to blog 52 times next year.
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