By Liz Dubret
Today is my favorite SMU tradition: Celebration of Lights. It marks the beginning of the Holiday Season on campus. It is a time when SMU students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Dallas community come together in celebration of the Holidays. Everyone bundles up, grabs a candle, and hot chocolate and waits for the festivities to begin. There are many different performances, lots of Christmas Carols, and finally President Turner reads everyone a Christmas story. At the end, everyone’s breath is taken away as they turn on all of the Christmas lights on campus. It is truly a sparkling and magical moment.
So as I went to write this blog, I started to think back on my past two years of Celebration of Lights. My first year on campus, I went out with a few of my best friends and had a blast! We took pictures, accidentally dropped wax on each other, and spilled hot chocolate as we goofed around together. It was our final moment to snuggle in the cold before we locked ourselves in the library as we prepared for our first college finals. It was the perfect end to a wonderful semester.
Sophomore year, I went to Celebration of Lights with only my roommate. We had spent the entire day together, and wanted to end on a happy Christmas note before we went our separate ways for the holidays. Of course we met up with all of our friends there, but it was nice to spend it with my best friend as we stood there and remembered how lucky we were to attend such a wonderful university that had such great community and family.
This year, I am excited to see what I do for Celebration of Lights. I do not have any special plans, but know that as it is my second to last, it will definitely be a special time to remember. After all, nothing can go wrong during Christmas!