"With the kids jingle belling and everyone tell you'll be a good cheer…" Sadly, the lyrics of this Christmas Carol do not reflect the attitudes of students during holiday time. Negativity and condescending behavior tends to bring students down as they approach this stressful time of the year.

Sometimes a student may have a rough day and lash out irrationally at a fellow classmate, however bitter and sarcastic remarks can push a student's emotional outlook on a day from bad, to worse. These insults and negativity lead to fights both verbally, emotionally, and physically. Sometimes, it seems, a simple hello, thank you, or smile can brighten anyone's day, but these random acts of kindness seem to be few and far between.

Sometimes an aggressive vibe and a "hard core" attitude is one used to get a rise out of people, but regardless of the reason, negativity seems to raise stress levels and even cause aggression between students. A simple remedy to these "rainy day" attitudes is an attempt at being nice. Instead of scowling and groaning in the hallways, try giving a “Hi, how are you,” or a “Good Morning” to a person who looks down on their luck.

Schools such as Clearlake High School begin unofficial Random Acts of Kindness clubs that focus on keeping morale on campus higher during the days of high stress activity.

As the holiday season readily approaches the lack of smiles and positive emotion seems to put a damper on the cheer of the season, however, a concentrated effort from the student body to have a lighter mood in the last week could remedy the negativity.