What octopuses teach us about holiday cheer

I learned today that octopuses have three hearts.

For some reason, I found this little tidbit of information, about which I did no further research, quite interesting, deciding this means octopuses can love three times as much as humans. (I know this is probably not exactly the case, but a girl can dream, right?) I was already jealous of octopuses, as I think my life would be a lot easier if I also had four times as many arms to work with. I could do so many activities! However, as for the matter of hearts, I find this very inspirational.

In the wake of my article last week, I wanted to explain that while I was upset about the destruction that was occurring over campus accompanied by a general lack of respect for one another, we are not a campus completely lacking in love.

As I walked home late Friday night, as many of us tend to do on weekend nights, instead of being shocked by destruction or disgusted by vomit spewed over the pathway leading to my building, I was greeted by the senior lights. The sparkling lights, which were twined around multiple trees, lit up the quad, making the usual-ghost town of late night F&M a magical walkway. Needless to say, the seniors chose an excellent method to pump up spirits in the dark moments of exams and display holiday cheer beautifully.

With the minimal amount of destruction (that at least I noticed and observed and especially in regards to last weekend) this weekend, I want to answer my own question that I asked last week: “Where is the love?” As of today, I want to say the love of this campus is looming in the air, ready to burst as the holiday season nears. A couple weeks with family (even though that can sometimes be even more stressful than exams) and the fact you may actually hear an angelic choir singing as you eye your own bed for the first time post-exams make it easy to see why we all are looking forward to this break.

As we approach the holiday season—having to first trudge through the horrible exam period—I think we should all embrace our inner octopus. That is, in my opinion, spread the love. Furthermore, everyone try to relax and take it easy for a while over break and be even more inspired by the octopus: just as they regenerate their sliced-off limbs, allow us all to regenerate over break, whether it’s via sipping hot chocolate in front of the television or doing mad Hannukah shopping as the mall announces it’s closing.

We’ve all had an eventful and exciting semester—so, whatever your catharsis may be, allow yourself to rejuvenate so we can come back for an even better semester, post-Christmas season. And always remember the wise words of Elf: the best way to spread holiday cheer is singing loud for all to hear!