Birthdays as we get older have a different meaning compared to when we were young and couldn’t wait to bring in cupcakes to our whole class or throw a party with all your best friends. This isn’t to say that for some people, birthdays are still a very exciting time of the year but if that’s not the case for you, you’re not alone.
Balancing emotions of growing old or past birthday trauma every year on a day that is supposed to be celebrated can cause a lot of anxiety for people who don’t necessarily love their birthday. It has taken me a couple of years to get the hang of it and give myself the grace I need on my birthday. As we get older we keep hitting milestones in life, the first being when you turn ten you are finally in double digits and you feel so grown up. The next being 13, you are finally a teenager and feel even more on top of the world. Then comes 16, the year you get your license and feel a sense of independence. Personally, 16 was a very fun age to turn because I was fortunate enough to get a car and that made 16 so special. Then we become “legal” at the age of 18 and are now technically seen as adults. After that birthdays become very interesting because you are technically a legal adult but from personal experience, I haven’t felt like an adult since I turned 18. Then comes 19 and 20 and 21, these years are very transforming and because of that throughout these years birthdays can be very nerve wracking.
There is a certain amount of pressure that you have to do some extravagant get together or event on your birthday and in all honesty if that’s not your cup of tea that’s okay. Sometimes the best birthdays are spent doing nothing or having a regular day and being able to just be in the moment of life. I turned 20 this year and that is exactly what I did. This year I have been very busy with a lot of commitments and knowing my feelings about my birthday I decided to give myself the gift of putting everything on hold for one single day. It was one of the better birthdays I’ve had in a long time.