As stressful as they already are, the holidays can be especially taxing for students who may already be struggling financially during the rest of the year. Luckily, some forethought and ingenuity can go a long way.
“Instead of just doing things only on Christmas and the holidays, I do little things for my family and friends all year round,” said Bakersfield College student Courtney Aycox.
“I don’t want it to seem that I care about them only on Christmas. I love them all year round, so I am not just going to spend all of my money on Christmas and forget about them the rest of the year.”
BC student Afa Hauvoh admits, “While I do celebrate Christmas, I don’t have the means to buy anyone presents. Usually, around Christmas, I clean the house up after everybody leaves.”
Hauvoh said that it is unusual for the men to clean the house in his family, unless the women get mad enough about it, so stepping outside of what is conventional helps him to spread the holiday cheer and show his appreciation.
While being inventive is generally the key for students during the holidays, some are more so than others.
“I owe my dad every month for car insurance,” stated Marco Correa. “So, I asked him if I could make it up to him in smaller payments so I could spend that money on gifts.”
Correa’s plan also includes purchasing a Nintendo Wii and selling it on Ebay and coming up a hundred dollars richer for it.
“It’s evil, I know, but it’s a hundred dollars, and I did it last year,” said Correa.
There is a flip side to all of the giving in a students life, however.
“I am going to dump all of my girlfriends, so I can save money for the holidays,” said student Cornelius Pratt, who said that he doesn’t care about the holidays.
Whether it’s by auctioning merchandise or cutting people out of their lives, students seem to manage to find some way to extend holiday blessings to those around them, not just to themselves, regardless of their situations.