It was December 24, 2003, the wind was strong, and the moon shown brightly through the snow coated land I call home. It was the first snow we ever had on Christmas; well at least since I could remember anyway. The smells of cookies baking and pine from the family Christmas tree flooded the whole house and sent the faint smell outside the house. I love Christmas Eve and helping make cookies, placing stockings over the fireplace, and putting the last touches on the Christmas tree. I fell asleep at 11:30 p.m. and woke up at 7 a.m. to find a litter of presents under the Christmas tree. I woke everyone up, and we opened gifts.

I got everything I ever wanted, but that wasnt good enough. All my toys lasted a year, and then ended up in the basement either broken, forgotten, or I got bored with them. The sad thing is millions of parents pay millions of dollars a year for Christmas, just for it to be forgotten. Kids usually think about themselves and ask for expensive toys. If they dont get what they want, they throw fits, but they never think about the kids who cant afford to have Christmas, or the kids that have never heard of Christmas. So please, think about someone else this Christmas, and be thankful for what you have.

Tommie Perry is a student in Alan Peoples freshman language arts class at Polk County High School.