Dear Santa,
We hope your preparations for Christmas and the New Year are going well.
2025 has been a long year full of surprises, joy, academic pressure, and achievements. We failed and succeeded; we felt overwhelmed and then proud of ourselves. We worked hard, burned the midnight oil, and sometimes skipped everything just to sleep. What a rollercoaster of a year it has been.
As we look ahead, we hope that 2026 will be an even better year for The Highlander. Our entire staff is excited and filled with Christmas magic. Each of us wishes for something different, something important and meaningful.
Hrach Arzumanyan, our Associate Editor, wishes for peace to finally settle over our country like a long-awaited snowfall—quiet, gentle, and healing. He wishes for unity: one that rises above political disagreements, where people speak not with anger, but with understanding. A unity born from the realization that our future depends on standing together, not drifting apart. He hopes true democratic values will guide us, and that every voice—young or old—will be heard, respected, and valued. He wishes for those who lost their homes to find their way back, for those who are sick to regain their strength, and for those who carry the invisible scars of war to finally feel peace settle into their hearts.
Hrach also wishes for wider opportunities for Armenia’s youth—to take part in shaping the country they love and to have a real hand in its governance, growth, and dreams.
Meanwhile, our illustrator and reporter Gacia Injeyan’s wish is as unique and iconic as her movie reviews. For 2026, Gacia wishes everyone would watch Superman (2025) and learn from its message because AUA’s campus sometimes needs more kindness. She also wishes for greatness for this new chapter of the DCU, and for Supergirl (2026) to be released sooner.
Our co-founder, Sona Gevorgyan, notes that this year The Highlander has a special wish–one written by and for the students and the entire AUA community we proudly represent. She wishes for voices that are bold and stories that are honest. May students continue to question, create, and speak with courage, using words not only to inform but to inspire change. Rooted in curiosity and integrity, The Highlander hopes every student finds the confidence to share their perspective and the strength to listen to others.
For the AUA community, she wishes unity across differences, creativity without fear, and dialogue that builds understanding. May our classrooms, hallways, and pages remain spaces where ideas are challenged respectfully and diversity of thought is celebrated.
Santa, if there’s room in your sleigh, please bring clarity in times of uncertainty, resilience during demanding semesters, and moments of joy between deadlines. Bring us stories worth telling, truth worth protecting, and a community that continues to rise, together. If these wishes come true, The Highlander will keep doing what it does best: telling the stories that matter.
Our reporter Eliza Barkhudaryan’s wish is simple, yet deeply important. She wishes to graduate successfully, finally get proper rest, and feel better. Dear Santa, Eliza also asks for more people to join The Highlander.
As for our illustrator, SMM manager, and reporter Meghrie Yaacoubian, she has a whole wishlist which we will quote directly:
“For this Christmas and 2026, I wish The Highlander staff finally starts getting paid.
I wish for December 26 to come faster because I cannot take it anymore so I can watch Stranger Things Vol. 2.
I wish AUA professors would give us proper feedback, as we work endless hours on our papers.
I wish students would stop using AI and be more creative.
I wish to finally be overpaid and underworked at a non-toxic workplace.
I wish to grow taller.”
Susanna Ghrjyan, one of our reporters, hopes that 2026 will be a year full of kindness—and that the genocides in Palestine and Sudan will end. She wishes people would be kinder and read more. For The Highlander, she hopes for a year full of interesting stories, new reporters, and a wider audience.
From France, our editorial board member Gaya Balian sends her wishes. She hopes AUA remains a place where students develop crucial skills to guide them throughout their journeys, despite the temptation of overusing AI. She also wishes students would engage more actively in class discussions by nurturing curiosity, active listening, and the courage to speak up. The Highlander, she believes, is a great place to start. Her wish is for our team and readers to continue growing within the AUA community and beyond.
Our illustrator Mari Mkrtchyan wishes the construction of Triangle Park would finally come to an end. She also wishes that all AUA students begin reading The Highlander regularly, gain lasting knowledge, think outside the box, and truly value the education they receive. She hopes 2026 will be a year of positive discoveries and new beginnings.
One of our new reporters, Mariam Hakobyan, has a long-standing wish—to finally do a backflip (which we trust you can handle). On a more serious note, she wishes for world peace and, most importantly, balance within herself. She also reminds you about the unicorn you once forgot—and hopes this is the year it finally arrives.
Another new reporter, Tatevik Manukyan, wishes that in 2026 she will finally watch all the anime she has been planning to see for the past eight years. She hopes to become a reporter at the institution she dreams of, find time for yoga, and buy many dresses for her cat, Mina.
Dear Santa, our editorial board member and beloved instructor Dr. Shawn McIntosh also joins the wishes. He hopes more students will get involved in excellent student-run media like The Highlander and recognize the value of student activities beyond the classroom. The more people involved, the lighter the workload, and the more meaningful the experience. The friendships and memories built here, he believes, last far longer than fleeting in-class encounters.
As for me, the Managing Editor of The Highlander, I wish that people truly appreciate our work and that journalists receive the credit they deserve. I wish that we graduate from AUA and become strong professionals. I wish that no student experiences depression because of academic pressure. I wish health for everyone—so they can pursue whatever they dream of. And finally, dear Santa, please bring me my driver’s license in 2026.
So here is our letter for the New Year. Different wishes, different perspectives just like The Highlander itself. But we all share one hope: that 2026 arrives with peace and life-changing achievements.
With hugs and much love,
The Highlander Team
