Oh, how I just love the relaxing sights of the holidays: the decorations, the delicious food hitting your plate, the kids playing with each other, the drunk aunt having her ninth glass of wine.

Oh, and how I adore the beautiful sounds — the music, the kids laughing and the polite chatter of everyone in the house:

“Covid and vaccines are hoaxes so they can put microchips inside you!” 

“That’s enough wine Aunt Debbie, you’re drunk.” 

“This is Biden’s America — he’s ruining the damn country!”

“Come on Uncle Tim, you really think it would’ve been any better if Trump was elected again!?” 

“You’ve always loved my brother more than me, Mom!”

“I told you I was bringing the mac and cheese! Why the hell would you bring two more?!” 

Yeah, seeing your family during the holidays is truly a magical experience. 

If you’re like me, you’re a college student who lives an hour away from home and your entire family. This means that when it’s time for holiday breaks, you have a long drive to mentally prepare yourself for whatever craziness awaits you at your grandma’s house.

A whole hour of staring at the road ahead, imagining the arguments that can and maybe will surface in the next few days. 

Even if you’re not like me, I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from.

Now let me be clear, my family doesn’t have arguments like that, but we sure don’t agree on everything.

And boy, let me tell you, I’ve seen what that can do to a close-knit family all forced together for a day. It’s obvious that in my family, we all love each other, and I’m sure that for most of you it’s the same. 

Now, there’s something about families during the holidays that always ends with everyone at each others’ throats. Maybe it’s the stress of hosting, maybe it’s the stress of a big crowd in one household, or maybe some of us just don’t agree with each other’s politics or ideas. All of these usually end with heated arguments much like the ones you read above. 

Families getting together almost always ends up with someone drunk. Whether it be your weird uncle, crazy aunt or just your wine-loving grandma, someone’s going to end up passed out on the couch after yelling or crying about something that happened 20 years ago. 

A situation I’ve witnessed first hand usually involves two people arguing over a food item that one brought extra of, even though the other explicitly said they would handle it. Most of the time, they’re arguing over side dishes like mac and cheese or mashed potatoes, since usually the host handles the turkey or ham. My goodness, those arguments get crazy.  

To me, I believe family is everything, and no, I am not taking that from Vin Diesel.

I think family is one of the most important things in our lives. My favorite part of every holiday is seeing everyone together. Despite the arguments and almost killing each other, at the end of the day we all love each other.

We all share these special moments together for as long as we live, and that’s what’s so beautiful about the holidays. 

The world can be cruel, uncaring and dark, but when the holidays roll around and we all spend time together, it seems like everything stops, and the world gets better for a day. 

If you’re considering not going to a family gathering this holiday season, stop considering and just go.

I promise you, it’s worth it.

Nick Keller is an opinion writer. Contact him at [email protected].