The expiration date.

There's nothing quite like the holiday season. The commercialization of it all urges us to think about Christmas in July and transforms Black Friday into Grey Thursday. There is the stress of whether UPS and FedEx will hold up their promises to deliver your family's gifts on time (but to remember that those drivers have families too). Family dinners and holiday parties with people you haven't seen in years hold the promise of awkward encounters and forced conversations. 

Yet there is something magical about this time of year. I'm sure that will all change once I enter the working world and that thing called "winter break" ceases to exist. There will no longer be as much time to dwell on the most minute details of the holiday season. 

There will no longer be as much time to spend with family and friends. Somehow, I'm not afraid--perhaps the greatest lesson I've learned in the past few years is to cherish the time that you do have. 

I consider myself lucky. I'm so lucky my parents gave me the opportunity to go to school 3,000 miles from home--possibly the furthest I could go away without leaving the country. I'm lucky to have them welcome me back every winter and summer break with arms that have been longing for one more hug. I'm lucky that despite the fact that I spend three-quarters of each year away from home, that it has only made me appreciate it more. 

Some people say that they couldn't ever leave home, that they couldn't ever imagine living farther than a two minute drive away from their boyfriend. 

Yes, the distance is heartbreaking. It tears at every fiber of your being, consumes your every thought until you feel numb. You must summon every last bit of strength you have to turn away and take that first step towards that train or airplane that separates you from the ones you love. 

You feel empty. You feel alone. In that moment, you've never been so alone in your entire life.

Yet there's always the promise of tomorrow. There's so much to look forward to in this great life we lead; there's so much life left to live. 

The distance and the goodbyes it requires may cause some of the worst pain I have ever felt. But it has also granted me the greatest happiness. I can't begin to describe what it feels like to be jerked back into my seat once the plane touches down on the tarmac, how loudly my heart beats as I walk towards the arrivals gate. 

That first embrace, that first kiss after almost four months is the greatest gift I could ever ask for. My holiday season is no longer about comparing Christmas gifts or counting party invitations--it's about cherishing the time that I have with the ones that I love. 

For now, that time does have an expiration date. It must always come to an end. I don't know if that will change once graduation day comes, but one thing is sure--I don't have to know. 

All that I know is that in this moment, I am choosing to live. I am choosing to appreciate this moment in my life for what it is. 

There really is nothing quite like being home for the holidays.