December typically brings joy and cheer as the various holidays are right around the corner, but in high school, students can have a different outlook. External pressures can create a less positive environment throughout the days leading into to winter break. 

“There’s been a lot of other distractions with sports to make Christmas my priority,” junior Haley Adams said. 

Family traditions which can hold sentimental value are disturbed as well by the lack of holiday cheer. 

“I feel that I don’t have the time for Christmas,” junior Riley Waldrop said. “I was too busy doing homework that I couldn’t set up decorations with my family.”

Although some students feel stressed, there are still people with cheer and joy for the holiday season. The joyous feeling can also be beneficial in regards to the stressful classes and workload leading up to the student’s winter break.

“I still feel the Christmas cheer because of the time I get to spend with my family,” junior Abby Janiga said. “The anticipation since summer has created more excitement for me.”

The different factors in students’ lives are changing how they feel about the holiday season. Priorities, such as sports or a heavy workload, are taking precedent. 

“It just seemed different this year,” Waldrop said.