My earliest memories undoubtedly developed during my two years at the small pre-school I attended, Caring Community. There are a number of experiences from that time in my life that I am occasionally reminded of by something quite small, like when I hear about the character Big Bird from Sesame Street, I immediately think of the Big Bird bouncy toy my cousin and I often fought over, or when I see Mott's apple juice, I remember when my teacher let me pour juice into Dixie cups for all of my classmates (all by myself!) While most of these recollections are vague, there is one very distinct memory I have from pre-school that occured around Christmas season. My class took a walk outside not far from our school building to choose a Christmas tree for our classroom.Once we arrived to the fir trees, my classmates and I noticed that they were decorated with candy canes, bead necklaces, small plastic lizards, other small goodies, and of course, snow. Looking back now, these decorations seem quite random and odd, but as a child, I was mesmerized; I specifically remember my fascination for the beautiful trees, and how elated I was to hear we could each remove a few goodies from the branches and take them home.

This was such a simple event, but it was what created my love for the holiday season. This was my earliest distinct memory of Christmas, and that specific joy and excitement is still prevalent years later during the month of December. I absolutely love Christmas season, not because of the gifts, but because of the liveliness and spirit that comes with it. Each of my early memories was significant to me in a similar way, as they developed my first connotations of specific events, places, people, things, or situations. I think that perhaps without this experience, I still would have found a love for the holiday season, but I am still grateful to have had this memory and to have had it at such an early age; it reminds me how important childhood is, and how it truly is the simple things that please people the most.