Hear ye, hear ye! Your favorite radio station has decreed that Christmas this year began on November 11!

Personally, I’m one of the “Christmas begins after Halloween” type of people. I will take no judgement—Thanksgiving is simply inferior to the crisp Holiday air. I’m taking out my Gingerbread-scented Bath & Body Works candles the moment the last trick-or-treater stops by my front door.

Cadiz Salazar ’23 perfectly captures my thoughts: “We can have both Thanksgiving and Christmas AT THE SAME TIME. Christmas brings me so much happiness; let me live in peace. I’m so excited to turn on the radio and enjoy the Holiday tunes this Winter season.”

However, my Christmas celebrations don’t truly begin until the radio station, KOST 103.5, switches from its normal tunes to the Holly Jolly cheer of Ol’ Saint Nick. As I drove to school that Tuesday, I heard the announcement: KOST 103.5 would begin their Christmas music on Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 a.m. I nearly put my hazard lights on just to pull over and scream in excitement.

Friday arrived and I had rehearsal beginning at 8 a.m. on the dot. I was devastated to miss the annual turning of KOST’s music. But I knew that it would make the moment I turned on my car radio more special.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized KOST 103.5 is only a LA based music station, and people across the country—even in other California regional areas—aren’t familiar with the station that I call home. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Friday, Nov. 11 just happened to be the day that I was a personal chaeuffer for four Juniors. On our walk to my car, I disclosed my plan to blast whatever Holiday tune KOST was playing. Unfortunately for me, they didn’t seem to share the same excitement. I (legally) zoomed out of the parking lot, pressed the “FM” button on my stereo, and rolled down the windows. As I listened to Dean Martin sing “Let It Snow,” I turned to see the faces I assumed to be ecstatic, but was only met with bored stares. It wasn’t until KOST played Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” that my car began to share my Holiday cheer.

KOST 103.5 has been a staple part of my holiday celebrations for as long as I can remember. Most of my fondest Christmas memories were backtracked by the radio station melodically singing “Feel good for the holidays, KOST one-oh-three-point-five!” I can’t wait to continue making these memories this holiday season. Be sure to check it out!