Gift giving
Gift giving has become a staple activity. It is prevalent during various occasions, from visits to friends or family, birthdays, and holidays to baby showers and weddings.
Different occasions may call for distinct gifts. “On your birthday, the gifts are more personal and centered towards you,” says freshman Enzo Fuenzalida. “You get a lot of things that mean a lot to you. During holidays, the gifts are more for just saying ‘thank you.’”
As a student, Fuenzalida also believes in students giving teachers presents. He says, “I think doing so brings the teacher and student together. It would kind of be like saying thank you for teaching me and getting me [to] where I’m at.”
Gift giving is so prevalent nowadays that some perceive giving gifts as a social norm. “I believe that it has become a societal norm because sometimes the gifts that are given, like birthday gifts, do not hold any meaning like some used to,” says junior Anna Nillo. “It has become so normal to give gifts that the person being given the gift does not appreciate the present as much.”
Because gift giving has become widely accepted, there may be repercussions when one fails to give presents. “If you don’t conform to societal norms, you can be disliked by your peers, and excluded from group events,” says Nillo.
However, others believe that the integrity of gift giving is still intact. “People give gifts generally to express their gratitude towards others,” says sophomore Sameer Jain. “While at times it does seem like it is a societal norm to give gifts, I think that most people still only give gifts when they truly think they deserve it.”
Established traditions may affect one’s gift giving tendencies. “My family [has] two sides – a Hispanic side and an Italian side,” Fuenzalida says. “The Italian side supports Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and such holidays, while for the Hispanic side, we also celebrate some things in between—just some of our traditions from my country, which is nice.”
“[During] Christmas, our tradition is to give everyone a gift,” says sophomore Edward Muller. “My family says that if you don’t bring any gifts, then you won’t be able to join the Christmas party we have every year at our house.”
Sometimes the most memorable gifts are also the gifts that are symbolic and clearly thoughtful. “The most memorable gift I have received was this necklace from my relatives as a graduation present,” says freshman Alexandra Varallo. “When they gave it to me I really felt they supported me and I appreciated the thought they put into it as well as the encouragement.” Handmade gifts may offer much more than any store bought gift could ever provide. “The most memorable gift I have ever given was a large scrap book for my friend,” Varallo says. “She was a fantastic friend and I also felt gratitude towards her support. So I compiled a bunch of photos and souvenirs so she can relive the great moments we had together in our friendship.”
Thank you cards
It seems that the phrase “thank you” is increasingly used nowadays. The phrase “thank you” has become quite versatile as it is applicable in many situations and in different forums. The Internet and other forms of technology have provided new platforms to exchange “thank you’s.” Because of the accessible and pervasive nature of technology, traditional thank you cards are slowly becoming replaced with a more convenient internet version.
“Technology is evolving and we’re using it more and more as time passes on,” says junior Zackary Franco. “I don’t see it as a wrong thing, either, to be using it. A thank you card is nice, but as a whole, we have evolved through technology by now. So I think technology is being used more, and thank you cards are becoming increasingly dated.”
On the other hand, some believe that despite the identical content on e-cards and actual thank you cards, technology cannot replace thank you cards. “Technology is affecting ways of thanking [others],” says Muller. “However, the things that you write on a handwritten thank you card are a lot more personal. If you were to write a text or email to someone, considering the technology today, anybody, even the CIA, could see it. You really don’t know who could see the messages you send to a person.”
“[Thank you cards] are still given, but not as common as before. Email makes things quicker but it loses the meaning,” says Varallo. “With a thank you email, there can be no thought behind it due to the convenience. You can just send the same email to everyone. A thank you note takes effort, and it shows more appreciation towards the person … technology is overtaking the true meaning of gratitude.”
