Charlie Brown and His Christmas Tree

In the spirit of Boxing Day, I am looking at a photo that represents the greatest gift I have received, besides my life and my brother - an education in the UK provided by our parents.

It was where I realized I could become who I wanted to become, where I felt I had the liberty to just be me.

The career paths pursued by my peers were diverse, peer A went into art, peer B rowed for a living, peer C became a historian, etc. Their life choices inspired me to follow their footsteps by not following their footsteps, to grow into that tree I am meant to be.

After all, nobody looks at a tree and thinks it isn't supposed to look like this, it should look like other trees, its branches should curl at noticeable angles, its leaves shouldn't be in a modest shade of green, it shouldn't be petite, etc.

So, for this holiday season, let me remind myself again to tend to my tree with tender love and care by rewatching "A Charlie Brown Christmas", in which Charlie said, "I'll take this little tree home and decorate it, and I'll show them it'll really work in our play."

It is only when we don't try to fit into the scheme of things that we can find our place, like those chains looking so fine on Charlie's Christmas tree.