Shiho Amster Blog #16: Memories of Memorial Day?
Memories of Memorial Day?
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| https://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/us/memorial-day.php |
I, as you also probably are, am very much tired of this school year and have reached my maximum capacity of burn out. To redevelop a sense of purpose in my life, I decided to look at what national holidays are soon to arrive that can provide me with the necessary relief I so strongly desire. To my delightful surprise, Memorial Day is coming up on May 30th this year. It is a day to commemorate the US soldiers who lost their lives fighting for our country.
Memorial Day is obviously not the only national holiday. We also observe Veterans Day, Presidents Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day, which are all holidays marking monumental events that we also gratefully have no school on.
To be honest, I have never personally celebrated these holidays in the form of actually commemorating and remembering the events that occurred in the past, but rather I just use it as an excuse to not go to school. Obviously, I do remember learning about the significance behind these certain holidays and doing activities in elementary school, but even that was at most an hour out of a school day. I got curious to find out how many people in the world actually purposefully celebrate these holidays, but I sadly could not find any relevant statistics besides for the more commonly celebrated religious holidays like Easter and Christmas.
Do you celebrate federal holidays? If so, what do you do? If you do not, do you think it is fair for us to have the day off of school without even considering the implications of the holiday and how it has affected our history and various populations of people in and out of America?
Hey Shiho, I hope you took a break to enjoy your birthday yesterday as you mention in your blog that you "reached [your] maximum capacity of burnout." It is interesting that in this part of the year many students tell me they feel the most stressed but for me, it's the opposite. In the beginning of the year, I doubted my capabilities, had to complete many annotations, and had to learn many new difficult subjects like physics without any prerequisites. I am so grateful that I am taking my AP tests with some background knowledge and instruction from my teachers. Whenever I feel stressed I normally see my dog and practice gratitude journaling, listing the things I am grateful for that day. Anyways, I am grateful that I was in your blogging cohort because your early blog uploads kept me motivated throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho! I also do not celebrate these holidays myself, and unfortunately see them more as a break from school. I do feel a bit bad for not always appreciating the history behind them before enjoying my days off, but also think that it is necessary for students to have these occasional breaks. Perhaps we should have even more holidays for students on top of federal holidays to fully appreciate their significance.
ReplyDeleteHey Shiho! I also don't really celebrate federal holidays besides enjoying the day off. However, I do think that it is important that schools expound on the significance of these holidays for them to have any true effect. I've found that I appreciate federal holidays and their benefits much more when one of my teachers will actually take the time to discuss it during class. Otherwise, there are a lot of times where I will even forget which holiday it is that we are skipping Monday for. A lot of these holidays like MLK Day and Veterans Day are really fundamental to our history and whether we have a day off or not, I think it is really important for us to at least take a moment to appreciate the people that the holiday is meant to honor.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho! Honestly like you and I'm sure a majority of students do, I don't look at federal holidays as anything except a break for myself. We certainly shouldn't be thinking of those days as just that as those days are to celebrate important people who have made the world a better place in some way shape or form, for example memorial day, where we recognize people who have sacrificed their lives for their society. Whether we as students do end up celebrating it or just looking at that day as a day off, we should certain take a couple minutes out of that day to sit still and be thankful for the people who did things to make this world a better place for us to live in.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho! I must admit that I have not taken the time to ever think of the implications of the holiday, instead I would just enjoy the day off. After learning so much about those who have served our country with the interviews and the speaker event, I believe it is a time we should spend remembering those who have lost their lives for this country as well as display gratitude to those who are currently serving.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho,
ReplyDeleteThere are only 365 days in a year. There has to be at least one thing we can commemorate every day. I believe that as long as we respect and remember the people who have sacrificed for things, we take for granted, taking these federal holidays as a mental break from school is not immoral or disrespectful. However, these holidays do serve as a reminder to honor those sacrifices especially to a generation who may not personally relate to veterans and war. While I am grateful for a break from school, I am more grateful for those who persevered all over the world so that I may have the opportunity to attend school in the first place and choose my own path in life.
Hi Shiho, much like you, I also have used similar holidays as a break rather than a time to honor different populations. Since the point of these holidays is to honor everyone from veterans to mothers, I think it is good to reach out to someone you know if they qualify based on the holiday. Like on veterans day, say "thank you for your service" to family and friends that are veterans. Even though it many not have much of a greater impact, that small action can make someone feel really good.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho, thanks for the reminder about Memorial Day weekend coming up as we all do need a break. I didn’t used to pay much mind to the reason we have holidays, but after the presentation that the Vietnam War veterans gave, I think holidays will be a lot more impactful for me. As an elementary school kid, I also remember doing small activities for different holidays, but I don’t think I could take it as seriously as I do now because I wasn’t exposed to what the holidays really stand for. After hearing in person what Vietnam War veterans have gone through, and then also interviewing someone about how war has impacted their life and their family’s life, I have a deeper appreciation for the holidays. I think it is really nice to spend some time reflecting on what each holiday really means.
ReplyDeleteHi Shiho. If I am being honest, I am like you--I use these days as an excuse to skip school. I realized this recently, possibly last Labor Day, and I felt really guilty with myself. We get these days off to honor certain peoples or communities, and I found myself praying for them or giving them a moment of silence, respect, or love (depending on the holiday) because I felt guilty not doing so. I think this practice has helped me remember the significance of all these holidays, and I encourage all of you to do the same.
ReplyDelete