By Kendyl Bennett
The leaves have changed and so are the seasons. My favorite season, winter, is right around the corner. Winter also brings my two favorite holidays; Christmas and my birthday. I especially love all of the snow we get during the winter months, as it allows me to enjoy some of my most-liked hobbies like snowmobiling and skiing. I also get to play my favorite sport, which is basketball, during the winter.
I love everything about Christmas; it is a time where people come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Our family gathers with extended family around the Christmas holiday to spend time with those we don’t see often, catch up on what’s been happening, and of course enjoy all of the amazing food and special treats only prepared at the holidays. Two special traditions for our family include spending Christmas Eve at my grandparents’, where we eat a meal of soups and hors d’oeuvres, open gifts and play games, then venture down into the woods and stay overnight at our family cabin. I absolutely love tucking into the warm cabin with the crackling wood stove and if there is snow on Christmas Eve, it makes the most perfect picture!
Another very important thing about winter is that I was born in January, so we celebrate my birthday right after Christmas every year; think double celebrations, double presents! Birthdays are another occasion to gather with family to celebrate; I love spending time with my family. It is fun having a winter birthday because most years it has ended up being a snow day. I love that my birthday gets to be celebrated in the snow, as it allows me to take part in some hobbies I enjoy.
I enjoy the snow and all of the decorations that are put up around the holiday season – they are so pretty and they put me in a mood no other season does. I am very excited for the first snowfall of the season. My favorite winter activities to participate in are skiing and snowmobiling. I love to ride snowmobile and we just got new sleds last year, so I am looking forward to riding those this year. A lot of my classmates also have snowmobiles so we enjoy riding them to and from school and also on snow days, we are usually riding on trails or around the neighboring towns.
Skiing is something I tried for the first time a few years ago while on a church trip. We went skiing as a group at Welch Village and I didn’t think I would pick up on the technique so easily. It came really natural to me and I continued to ski that year. I fell in love with it and haven’t stopped skiing since. I am pretty excited to hit the slopes this winter. My brother is a ski instructor in Mankato, so I am excited to go skiing with him, as well.
My favorite sport starts right before and ends right after winter, so I will play it throughout my favorite months. Basketball has already started and we are now in full swing, preparing for our first game the week of November 28! We had a bit of a transition this year because we have a new coach and I am really looking forward to the season. I have loved basketball since I was in fourth grade. I’m so passionate about the game of basketball because it is very competitive and I enjoy working hard alongside my friends, sharing a common interest.
Kendyl Bennett is a student at Fillmore Central High School. She is one of eight area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its eighteenth year.
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