It’s that time of year again: We’ve entered the holiday season. You thought the holidays just meant Christmastime? Nope. They started as soon as the first leaf fell off a tree.

That leaf meant it was fall. Ah, fall. It brings the return of pumpkin spice lattes, football season, a new school year (I don’t celebrate that last one) …and, of course, Halloween. After Halloween comes Thanksgiving, and before you know it, it’s Christmas and you’re surrounded by singing reindeer.

Let’s be real here – the holidays are great, but they’re not about the holidays. Most people who celebrate Halloween don’t have a clue where it came from. Christmas used to be a religious holiday, but now it’s centered on buying presents so that people know you love them. Thanksgiving came from the pilgrims, but what happens after our day of being thankful? Black Friday, where Americans everywhere storm shopping malls with a frenzied need to buy things.

I’m not saying the holidays are bad. I like pumpkin spice lattes as much as the next person. But when the first Christmas catalog arrived at my house ridiculously early, I had to wonder what the point of it all is. I mean, think about all the presents you’ve ever been given for Christmas. Unless you got a kitten, has anything actually made you happier? (Personally, the blue rubber duck I got in my stocking last year has really impacted my life.)

In the end, whether it was an iPhone, a new camera, or a pair of shoes – it’s just a thing. And things don’t matter. Brand-name sneakers won’t make you a runner, and simply buying notecards won’t make you more organized at learning vocab; you’ll probably still put it off until you have to learn every word the night before the final exam. But I digress.

What I’m trying to say is, this year make your holidays about the celebration itself, not about trying to buy your way to happiness. Eventually, the memories are what really matter. (Besides kittens. If you get a kitten, forget this entire article and go pet that little thing.)

Fina Short, 15, is a sophomore at Eastside Preparatory School. She lives in Medina.