When I was a young and naive child, I believed in everything. Whatever my family or friends said, whatever was in stories, you name it, I believed in it. My imagination and curiosity was always expanding. I especially looked forward to Christmas every year. I couldn’t contain my excitement when I knew Santa was coming to leave wonderful presents under my adorned Christmas tree.

Every year, right around the beginning of December, I would make a list to send to Santa, in the North Pole. I would include what I wanted for Christmas- maybe a Barbie Dream House or an American Girl Doll. Then, I would give it to my parents to mail out before Christmas- so the elves would know what to make for me. Up until fourth grade, I wasn’t suspicious of anything. I suppose I was somewhat gullible as a young kid. I’m the oldest of four children in my family, so the fact that Santa could be fake never even occurred to me. There were so many movies with him in it, malls where children sat on his lap and objects when his jolly face imprinted on them. No, there was no way Santa could be a scam, never.

I overheard children talking at school about how Santa isn’t real and how their parents told them so. I tried my best not to believe any of it, but as I started thinking rationally about the whole situation, I began to think the idea could be a possibility. I thought of how it is definitely impossible for one man to travel the entire globe in one night. How does he know who lives where? It was hard for me, but I began to think that Santa wasn’t real.

So, I confronted my parents about it. Of course, they denied it and told me not to listen to what my friends said. In this conversation with them, there was the classic line said, “If you don’t believe, you won’t receive!” This was a line I heard every year, and I believed it was true up until then. So I pushed myself into believing in Santa and forgot about everything I was thinking about before. This was mainly because I really wanted to receive that sweat suit from Limited Too I desired for months.

That Christmas Eve was one I will always remember. It started out like any other, my two brothers, my sister, and I all said goodnight to my mom and dad and when up to our rooms. Like every other Christmas Eve as a child, I found it hard to sleep. Even at 1:30 in the morning, I was still wide awake, counting down the hours till I would get to go downstairs and get a hold my presents. Suddenly, a loud sound from the kitchen made me jump. It sounded almost as if someone dropped something. Maybe it is Santa, I thought, now is the time to meet him and prove all of my friends wrong! With this, I rapidly hopped out of my bed and quietly tip-toed down the stairs. I walked as calmly as I could, past my dining room, entering the kitchen. I could see there was a light turned on. As I crept into the kitchen, to my amazement, I found my mom wrapping up an Xbox and my dad picking up the Barbie Dream House he had just dropped on his way in from the garage. I was in shock. I did not know what to say. So I said the first thing that came to my mind, “What’s going on?”

My parents sat me down on the couch in the living room, at 1:45 am and told me everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. They told me about not only about Santa, but the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny as well! I was heartbroken. I couldn’t believe all my childhood, I believed in these counterfeit creatures of my imagination.

Even though my beliefs as a child have come to an end, I haven’t stopped trusting the spirit of Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. For one thing, Santa is the spirit of the holiday season. If no one believed in Santa, what would it be like? All of the creatures that children believe in symbolize their innocence and cheerfulness. Sure, I was astonished when I found out the truth about them, but I now understand why we have these beings to begin with.