It’s the holiday season yet again: a time dedicated to thankfulness, giving back and suffering through relatives prying into your personal life. Although the holidays are meant to be a joyous occasion, they always coincide with seeing family members who you’ve probably been away from since the last major occasion.
Preparing to enter the house that’s hosting is quite similar to an athlete’s ritual before heading out to the game, if you were to swap out strategizing plays on the field for anticipating to consume copious amounts of champagne upon arrival.
After settling in, exchanging hellos and receiving the typical comment about “how much weight you’ve lost!” here comes the big guns.
Relatives begin to circle around, echoing questions regarding your plans for after graduation and why you broke up with your boyfriend. You debate tactics to avoid this occurrence — darting your eyes around the room for someone to save you from the involuntary interrogation. Spotting your younger sister and politely excusing yourself from the conversation is half-time. You spare a moment to freshen your drink before sitting down to dinner.
By this point in the evening, most of the arrows have been fired and there’s not much ammo left on the opposing team’s side. Dinner comes and goes and before you know it, it’s time to head home to your golden retriever puppies — arguably more rewarding than winning the Super Bowl.
In my honest opinion, seeing distant relatives is extremely similar to a sport. From preparing for the match to staying afloat amidst unknown circumstances, an athlete and a college student home for the holidays have similar ways of keeping their cool.
