Dear Santa...

Christmas is approaching and as I look back at a treacherous year I would like to ask you if this next year can bring more hope and less unnecessary surprises. I know I am asking a lot of you Santa but there is just so much that I want.

First and foremost I would like a refund from CSUS for the classes that I could not attend due to furlough days and a refund for the 20 percent increase on my tuition. I deem this request fair since I was forced to attend class less and pay more.

Santa can you believe faculty was forced to take a pay cut as well so most of the semester I felt like a few Professors did not even want to be there; as if they were putting in ten percent less to substantiate for their decreased income.

There are still people on campus giving it their all. Santa, there is a man on campus that sells sandwiches in front of the most difficult place on campus, the Union. He stands in front of multiple food establishments and sells Togo’s sandwiches from a cart. He has made a great network for himself. As students pass by they give him high-fives and say their hellos. I often wonder if he can sell sandwiches like this imagine what he can do with a BMW.

This is why I think it is time to give him a Christmas bonus. Despite everything he continues to put in 100 percent.

I hope I am not getting carried away but I did say that there were so many things that I wanted.

It is hard to forget the man who plays the violin outside the quad. Through protests, bellows and roars you can see him standing alone playing his violin as if he is on stage at a symphony. Amazingly the beauty of his violin supersedes all other sounds and takes you somewhere else.

I have experienced this “take me away” moment in its entirety as people rush by brushing shoulders, disconnected from their surroundings and out of nowhere a calming sound takes over and all of a sudden everyone seems to be moving in slow motion.

I think it is reasonable to give him the opportunity to play with the best; if he can play amongst controversy with so much passion than imagine his potential on stage.

Santa I think if you can offer me a few wishes than it will help my Christmas spirit return. I know my requests might seem unreasonable but they will help bring back the spirit of Christmas and I think that we are living in a time where this needs to happen. If people can see just a little bit of magic things can begin to turn around.

As I have grown older I realize that there is little that I want that I do not have. I say that lightly because I do not have much. What I do have is two healthy perfect children and a family to be proud of and that is all I need.

We all endure the struggles of life everyday and Santa I know that you cannot change that but I think if you offered just a tad more magic this year than people will start believing again. Santa please give it your all this year, we cannot afford another ten percent decrease.

Come to think of it Santa, I hope that you are not taking any of your furlough days this month and that you will still have time to grant wishes and make magic happen.