like all the fuckin ads with the hugging families around winter. any educationally normal adult knows everyone just gets more stressed, with travel and gifts and social obligations and everything, but you’re not even allowed to…openly feel that, it seems? it’s like there’s this happiness benchmark you have to reach, otherwise you’ll feel even shittier and sadder for not having a happy holiday season
“I couldn’t afford to buy anyone gifts this year”, is a complete sentence.
It comes with a feeling of failure that’s hard to deal with. Even if I know it’s all a capitalist construct made to make me feel that way.