Emily Goodell|Columnist
Everyone should bring someone home for the holidays. Not a romantic someone per se, but a friend or an acquaintance. Many people do not have anywhere to go for the holiday season. Either they have no family, are estranged from their family or cannot afford to go home. Many other reasons exist besides these, but the fact remains that many do not have somewhere to go.
Regardless of faith background, religious practices (or lack thereof) or what holidays one celebrates, there is a general consensus that the winter time in the U.S. is the “holiday season” in which people celebrate love, joy, hope and peace. By that logic, it is safe to assume that being without people during this time can be difficult.
Some are hesitant to bring someone new into an intimate holiday setting, and while that is understandable, it is much less so if one weighs the issues on a scale. If one is more worried about the potential consequences of bringing a friend into their family than the mental and emotional consequences for one’s friend being alone instead of being in a place where they are affirmed and provided for, therein may lie a problem.
This is not to say that there are not circumstances in which one should not bring someone home with them for the holidays. If one is not financially able or the familial environment would create unnecessary harm or stress for family or friends, this would possibly be a reason to decline to bring a friend home.
The benefits that come from bringing someone into one’s home are not only for those coming into the home, but those hosting as well. There is a kind of joy that comes from giving others joy that can be found in adopting a friend for the holidays as well as the benefit of getting to know said friend better.
However, the fact is that people deserve people. They deserve people to share moments with. And if one person is able to make a profound difference in another’s holiday, doing so is a necessity.
Contact Emily Goodell at egoodell18@my.whitworth.edu