Growing up with your birthday being on a holiday or very near one is something that many people deal with. Having a birthday around a holiday always has its ups and downs when it comes to gifts and birthday parties. Wanting to celebrate your birthday is something most people want to do with all their friends and family, but when holidays are around the same time, things usually don’t go your way. I love my birthday and it has added to some parts of my personality.
Having my birthday on Valentine’s Day did give me a few benefits when it came to the social aspect of school and life. I was able to have a lot of attention on the day of love and as someone who has never been in a relationship, it was very nice. As a kid, my birthday was either on a weekday or a weekend, meaning that the day of or day(s) before, I would celebrate it at school by bringing baked goods and having all eyes on me. I loved brownies, so I would make brownies and pass them out. Of course, I also needed a helper and everyone would want to be the helper (it felt regal), making it seem as though the people wanted to be your friend even more. Having my birthday on Valentine’s Day also made it seem as though I had a special power when it came to love.
Being Cupid
As a kid, I was once told that I was Cupid and that I should help others get together, so that is exactly what I decided to do. I started this free business where kids would come up to me and tell me who they had crushes on. I made it my duty to see if I could get these kids together for Valentine’s Day. I loved doing it, it made me feel special and may or may not have also given me this God complex in which I had power over people’s love lives. It was very fun. Of course, I knew I wasn’t Cupid, but I tried my best. It did become hard when people told me about how they had crushes on the same person as somebody else. I went with whoever told me first and would tell the other that they were already taken, but if things changed (like them not liking each other) then I would let them know. My business did end in a pretty dramatic way. I had two friends in kindergarten, let’s call them Zoey and Lea. Zoey had a crush on a guy, Cody, and had told both Lea and me, so I made it my job to get them together. But things went south when Lea pulled me aside and told me that she also had a crush on Cody. I proceeded to tell her that she should probably let Zoey have Cody (if Cody was happy with her of course) and she should maybe find someone else. When we were on the playground though, I saw Lea pull Cody aside behind the jungle net thing, where she proceeded to kiss him. I immediately went over to her and told her that she has to tell Zoey. After that, I proceeded to close down my business, as knowing people’s crushes and then either not being able to do anything or doing too much just continuously seemed like torture. Was it a long-running business? No, but it was seasonal, and throughout my elementary school years, I did continue to bring it back.
Birthday Parties
Having birthday parties was probably the best thing when it came to my birthday being on a weekend. Parents of the kids would want to go on dates, so when I had my birthday parties that ran late the parents loved that it was, in a way, free babysitting. When I started to get older, it was harder to have these birthday parties with all my friends; I had friends who had little siblings to look after as their parents went on dates or friends who had dates of their own and wanted to spend the day with their significant others. There was also the chance that someone else’s birthday was also on Valentine’s Day and they also wanted a birthday party that day, causing the people I invited to have to choose. So why didn’t I just change the date of my birthday party? Well, the God complex did come back into play. In the end, I was pretty selfish, but I mean, who wouldn’t be on their birthday (yes I will be defending my adolescent behavior). Another issue with my birthday being on Valentine’s Day was the fact that when my friends were in a relationship they would plan to not be available for my birthday and while I do think that that was appropriate, there were times when the friend would break up with their partner and were now available. While it is great to have your friend be there to celebrate your birthday, they used the celebration as a way to get back at their partner. “Look how much fun I am having!”, “I don’t feel lonely at all!” — then the cameras cut and you get their sadness and heartbreak, and it becomes your job to comfort. Galentine’s Day is always a fun way to celebrate and making that a birthday party adds to the perks.
While I loved the attention I got for my birthday, I hated the constant association with my birthday being Valentine’s Day. Every time I say February 14th I always get the response, “OMG your birthday is Valentine’s Day, that is so cute! Your s/o must have an easy time remembering your birthday.” I do think it is cute and easy, but then it tends to feel as though your birthday is only the second most important thing on that day. Everyone deserves to feel important and celebrating your birthday is such an intimate thing where you share the celebration of you entering the world with the people you love. I do wish I was born on a different day just so that the day could be all mine, but I also would never change the day I was born because it gave me a lot of memories and experiences that have now made me who I am today. Anyways, happy birthday to me!