My nineteenth birthday is coming up on Friday. I've never really minded having an October birthday. Sure, I don't get to sleep in because it's usually on a school day, but my mom would always make me my favorite breakfast (milk toast) and take me out of school to my favorite restaurant (Abuelo's). Teachers would give me special privileges, I'd often encounter little surprises waiting for me at school (like a wrapped locker or a birthday hat to wear), and a lot of people would tell me, "Hey, happy birthday, Emily," which is the highlight of a kid's birthday.
With summer birthdays, you can have pool parties and go to water parks, sure, but with an autumn birthday, none of your friends are out of town on family vacations. So I've always enjoyed having a birthday in October.
It hit me a couple of days ago that this will be the first year of my life without a birthday party. I've always had a party with my friends, eighteen years in a row. Sleepovers, scavenger hunts, murder mysteries... and in 2011, I won't be having a birthday party at all.
It's not that I'm upset because I won't get as many presents or I won't have a bunch of people over in honor of my birthday. No, it's not that at all. The thing that bothers me a little is that this is the first year I won't get to see any of my friends on my birthday. We'll all be several hours away from each other, which feels a little weird.
I'm so, so blessed that I will get to go home on my birthday this year. I'll get to see my family and spend some much-needed time with them. And if I had to choose, I'd rather celebrate with my family. I've missed them a lot these last few weeks.
I guess this whole birthday thing is just another part of college and growing up. And there isn't any reason to mope around. I will still celebrate my birthday. I get time with my family on my actual birthday, and Ali is coming up to celebrate both Rebecca's and my birthday the next weekend. It will all work out. I'll see my other friends on Christmas Break. It will be fine.
I've never been jealous of those with summer birthdays. In fact, I've always preferred mine. Seeing all of my friends that day, being pulled out of school a little early, blowing out candles on a homemade cake from friends in the library before the smoke alarms go off (yes, I have really great friends), and Rebecca would probably agree with me that October birthdays can be pretty fantastic.
But this may be the first year I've ever felt a twinge of longing to have a birthday in June or July. Just a little. Maybe.
Okay, I'd still rather have my October birthday. (See, now it gives me a reason to fly home from school for a few days and see my family for the first time in what feels like forever.) So it all works out in the end.
Yeah, I'm pretty blessed.
My Birthday is right at the end of the school year here (we finish in mid to late June... often one or two weeks before my Birthday). So, I'm used to celebrating a couple weeks early- just because everyone else leaves to go on Vacation when school gets out for the summer.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who celebrated her July Birthday in January because her family had their annual family vacation during July. It just became a "half-Birthday celebration" instead.
(By the way, I wore a very similar hat for my 20th Birthday this past year. I decided not to embarrass my friend by wearing it when we went out on my ACTUAL Birthday, but I wore it to Starbucks and the mall with my BEST friend the next day and wore it there.)
My birthday is at the end of the month, so I know exactly what you mean, and definitely agree w/ you about October birthdays. Growing up, my birthdays have always been primarily celebrated w/ my family, aside from small parties from my youth group and the special treatment from teachers. Even though I'm in my 3rd year of college, I've had the special blessing that my birthday is during my fall break, so I've still been able to enjoy it w/ my family. I'm actually staying home to save up for college this semester, but my parents are moving around the same time as my birthday, and my siblings who live in the area will be out of town. So my first birthday not celebrated w/ my family and close friends is in the semester that I'm not even away in college! But like you, I still get to celebrate my birthday. And the day will come when we get less and less excited about birthdays! :)
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