As the Easter holiday approaches, I am eager for a break from my coursework and from the rigorous, fast-paced routine of my daily school grind.  

But more than anything, I am determined to remember and celebrate this holiday break for what it really symbolizes for me: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

If you think about it that way, Easter feels like a sad holiday, as it is contingent upon death, which is kind of contradictory to the bright colors of Easter, the renewal of spring and the Hallmarked images of new chicks bursting from eggs.  

But it is in fact, as these images suggest, about the opposite.  

Jesus rose, in my eyes, in the spring to signify new life: a new life with him.  

He rose to prove that God and his believers cannot be contained by death and sin. 

This is something I firmly believe in my religious journey.  

The new beginnings spring brings cannot be stifled by the death and darkness of the winter.  

Lord knows we are ready for the light and done with the harsh snow here in dreary Erie.  

With that being said, I feel so blessed to be able to spend Easter with my grandparents, celebrating our family and the promises God has given through the sacrifice of his only son.  

Clarence W. Hall once said, “If Easter says anything to us today, it is this: You can put truth in the grave but it won’t stay there.” 

So whether you believe in Jesus, another God or no God at all, Jesus may not be the reason for your spring season, but let his death and rebirth be a symbol for your year moving forward.  

What dies doesn’t stay dead, the flowers will bloom, the leaves will return; the brutality of winter cannot steal all of our joy just like the evil of this world, and brighter days are coming.  

Finals are coming, accompanied with inevitable stress and mental anguish.  

May you find comfort, though, in the pre-finals break provided by this religious holiday. 

Show yourself love and gratitude and hunker down, as exams and papers will surely fly. 

Summer will hopefully be sunnier than the winter has been.  

Whether Jesus serves as a story, a symbol or a savior in your life, have faith in the fact that sunnier days are ahead and the darkness will not and cannot last forever. 

Whatever you believe in, know that you will get through the next few weeks and you will do it successfully. 

ALI SMITH 

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