Every year, around the beginning of November, our country dives head first into one of the most important issues in our society. No, I’m not talking about the Presidential election again. This debate is much more important.

When does Christmas season officially start?

Starbucks goes into holiday mode the day after Halloween. On Nov. 1, Starbucks busts out its red holiday-themed coffee cups, not wasting a day to capitalize on the festive spirit. I’m more of an iced coffee kind of guy, and Starbucks always serves cold drinks in transparent plastic cups, but I do love an iced gingerbread latte, so I don’t mind the early start.

Most radio stations wait until after Thanksgiving before opening up their Christmas music library. Some households wait as late as Dec. 1 to put up decorations and purchase a Christmas tree.
Personally, I can’t decide whether it’s more important to get the holiday spirit going as early as possible or if it’s better to save the excitement for when the holidays are closer. Much like a Harvard-Westlake football game, you don’t want to storm the field every time the team wins, but it feels almost like a rite of passage to do it at least once before you graduate, if not more.

There’s no doubt that we are now totally in the swing of Christmas time. So for everyone stressed about school work, college admissions or in my case, press deadlines, remember that even grumpy people pretend to be happy this time of year.

Now’s the best excuse that you’ll have to smile in a while.

For seniors, this message is particularly important around this time. With the stress of college results this week, it’s easy to mope until New Years if you don’t get into your top choice. But keep a smile on your face, count your blessings and remember that if you end up at your “safety school,” it probably throws better parties than your “reaches.”

Once the holiday season ends, everyone should maintain their happy spirit at school. Don’t get me wrong, nothing makes me happier than hearing Nat King Cole blast “O Come All Ye Faithful” in my living room stereo when I come home from school and Winter Break is two of the best weeks of the year. But I feel like our school, or really society as a whole becomes too reliant on the holidays to be happy.

There are plenty of reasons to be happy at this school. In November, I participated in No Shave November, entered into the school wide game of Assassins and started playing pick up football with my friends.

Truth be told, my beard was really unimpressive even after a month of letting it go. In fact, my facial hair was very patchy and just overall gross. But the challenge was a great chance for me and my bearded brothers to laugh at ourselves and rememer to not take everything so seriously.

Though I was knocked out of the Happiness Club sponsored Assassins Game before I had a chance to kill anyone, I’ve really enjoyed following the updates from the official Twitter account, and I hope the Happiness Club brings it back in the spring because it’s been another great way for us to do something fun. And because I want to win.

Lastly, the Friday afternoon football games are perfect way to start a weekend. I get to do something fun with all the guys I love hanging out with. Simple get togethers like that can turn a boring weekend into a great one, and remind us how much we enjoy going to school with our friends.

So in conclusion, I think I’ve finally decided when we should start Christmas season: every day. Find little things in your life, like games, facial hair and Friday afternoon sunshine, to be excited about. Keep a balanced perspective on whether or not the challenges in your life are big things or little things. And remember to just relax a little bit around school, because attitude goes a long way.