This is it, folks. After this, there won’t be another issue of the Voice Magazine until 2019.  Hopefully you’ve enjoyed what students, educators, and graduates of AU have brought you this year, and if you have, don’t forget to let me know what you liked best about it.  If you need added incentive beyond the Christmas spirit and helping fellow students out, there is very likely some swag that will be made available for people who get in their selections before the end of the year.

We close out the year featuring a story from our own Barb Godin, who takes a look at what a Christmas with lost loved ones might be like, and encouragement to consider what your own might be like.  It makes for an article that may help you get in touch with those feelings that we all hope we have at this time of year.

And because we’re going to be gone for a week, this week, we’ve got two Flies on the wall to tickle your brain and make you think.  The first is the second part to last week’s article urging you to explore creating some new art as a way to bring a new perspective to your studies. This part, we take a look at another way to expand what your studies can provide, meditation.  Then the second Fly takes a closer look at Christmas, the spectacle, and finds that even in the consumerism we can find ways to address the higher needs of ourselves.

We also have a look at a different type of materialism, noting that even as we may look askance at how commercialized the season has become, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t part of it, albeit perhaps in different ways.

And if you’re dreading the holidays for the inevitable questions about New Years’ Resolutions or how you’re going to handle yet another dinner with that uncle you just don’t seem to be able to have any connection with, we’ve got articles to help you address those issues as well.  Plus, Chazz Bravado returns for the season to take a look at the recent controversy on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

Of course, we haven’t forgotten our course or book reviews, events, scholarships, advice, or other articles that can help you while away a few minutes over the season and keep you connected with what AU students and others have on their minds.

Most of all though, we haven’t forgotten you.  A huge thank you from me and all of the writers here at The Voice Magazine, and we all wish you the best of the season.  So, until next year, enjoy the read!