Last year around this time, here I was joking about getting a state-wide shutdown for my birthday. I had figured then that next year would be better and I’d be able to celebrate my 21st birthday mask less in a bar somewhere with my friends and family. I was hopeful, optimistic, and well…wrong. Fast forward a year to present-day, and here we are still struggling in a pandemic, albeit a bit more hopeful that an end is in site due to vaccine developments. However, the end was nowhere near my birthday this year, and my 21st birthday was not celebrated the way I had always imagined. Just because it was not the way I imagined did not make it any less enjoyable.
For my birthday this year, my parents, my boyfriend and I went out to eat at a local restaurant. Although we still had to mask up before entering the building and douse ourselves in hand sanitizer upon arrival, it was still everything I had hoped for. Sure, I wasn’t in some bar partying it up, but at least everyone I cared about was present, healthy, and safe. I was still able to enjoy my first legal drink (a delicious strawberry margarita I might add) and eat some excellent food with those closest to me.
Although it wasn’t the birthday I imagined, it was still better than enjoying it alone. In today’s day and age, with a pandemic still present and impacting individuals every single day, it is important to not take anything for granted. Even though my birthday wasn’t as better as I hoped it would be last year at this time, it was still better than I could have hoped for this year. Everyone was healthy, everyone was happy, and bars will still be there once this pandemic is over. For now, I’ll just have to enjoy some wine at home I guess ?.