I remember it like it was yesterday. The undying excitement that came as soon as the calendar said Dec. 1. The holiday only came once a year so I had to enjoy every minute of it while it lasted. There was no way to keep it together until Christmas Day. Every year it felt like it would never come and when it did it was only there for what seemed like a second. After that, I had to wait for another 364 days to experience it again.

For some reason it doesn’t feel like that anymore. Now that we’ve grown up, Christmas isn’t as magical as it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I still get super excited during the holidays. However, something is different about it once you get to a certain age.

Here’s my theory, when you’re a child all you have to worry about is running out of crayons and missing new episodes of your favorite TV shows on Nickelodeon. When you get a little older you worry about more serious matters like passing a test in your hardest class or wondering if the future you dream about is the one you’ll receive.

With all of that cluttering your mind around the holidays, it’s hard to see passed what you worry about. This is why I feel kids our age have a harder time getting into the true spirit.

Maybe it’s time to challenge ourselves as young adults to treat this holiday season like we once used to. Let’s go caroling, bake cookies and put out milk for Santa. Watch as many holiday movies as possible, make gingerbread houses and listen to Christmas music. We can make a change this season and maybe Christmas will feel like Christmas again.