I’m going to be very upfront here. I don’t like the month November. That’s it. There’s nothing particularly special about it in my eyes. Sure, there’s Thanksgiving, but that’s the only holiday in November. 

    Each month has its own thing to offer. September is the start of school, meaning Spirit Week and Fall Fair. October has Halloween, and even those who don’t enjoy this holiday can still get a kick out of the assembly and the free candy. December and January share the big winter break, and February has February break. March, okay March has no cool holidays either, but my birthday is in March so it’s automatically the best month. April (most of the time) has spring break and May’s not really a month it’s just the last stretch of school before finals. June comes around and you’re living it up in summer time.

    But then there’s November. Oh boy, I don’t like November. This is when the leaves, once so pretty, start turning brown and fall to the ground. The weather begins to get so unbearably cold and doesn’t warm up until April. And sometimes, it snows. In November! That should be illegal! The only two things people look forward to in November are Thanksgiving and December.

    I am determined to change my mindset, and maybe change the mindsets of my peers as well. There has got to be something worth celebrating about November, and I’m going to unearth it. It’s 30 days long; and we’re not getting out of it any time soon.

    I asked my friends for their favorite thing about November, the answer was unanimously Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving is a very different holiday. It’s more personal. You can have Halloween parties or New Year’s parties but having a Thanksgiving party seems a little off.

    Other than that, there isn’t much to be celebrating about November. We’ve got a few three day weekends, which is amazing and I believe we should have more of them. Juniors get to go to D.C., which I am actually super excited about. But I bet if you were to ask people what their favorite thing about November is, they’d probably either say Thanksgiving or nothing at all.

    It’s strange. I’ve only developed this distaste for November as I’ve gotten older. I remember watching the leaves fall as a kid and building a giant pile of them to jump into. Back when we had recess, I would run around with all my friends, trying to find the best and most colorful leaf. Now that I’m older, these things no longer amuse me. It’s like how you would love a food and never want to stop eating it, but as you grow older you suddenly realize how gross this food was. 

    What makes children’s minds so different from teens? Children don’t have much impulse control. They say what they want to say and don’t feel the need to suppress their likes and dislikes. They have vivid imaginations and easily find things to enjoy in any situation. I was a counselor at a sports camp this past summer and I found how fun it was to live life through a child’s eyes once again. It was so amazing to relive the days where you can be amused simply by seeing how many rocks you can hold or how much water you can pour on the counselor before it’s time to go home.

    Maybe I’m looking at this in the wrong way. If children, small humans who don’t know the difference between a nickel and dime, can find joy in almost everything they do, then I can surely find something fun about November. Something I can celebrate.

    This isn’t a celebratory party month. This is the time to get together with friends and family and just enjoy being together. Growing older has made me realize that not everything lasts forever, and all good things will come to an end. Thanksgiving is the only time of the year where you spend time together solely for the purpose of spending time together. That’s something worth celebrating. Maybe not with a big party, but with a hug, or telling someone you love them just so they know.

    The greatest thing about children is that they love so much and so easily. Maybe we all should live a little more like children this time of year and laugh and love just as much as they do. Maybe November isn’t a month for a big party or a celebration. It’s the month for an extra smile in the halls or making your loved ones feel loved. This is the time to connect with one another and unite in a way that is unique to November. And I would say that is a pretty great thing.