So guess what I just realized. My 20th birthday is in less than 72 hours. It totally snuck up on me this year, which is a surprise because I love birthdays. I am usually super on top of the whole birthday celebration thing, and I look forward to mine every year. Every year I try and make a point to celebrate with my friends and just take a day for myself. And every single year I get push back. Never from my closest friends of course, they know how I feel about these things, but always from acquaintances and those who have only recently met me. “It’s just a birthday. You’ll have more.” “Why celebrate being one year closer to death?”

It’s maddening to me. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate their birthday! It’s a celebration of gaining another year of knowledge and experiences and a time to look towards the future in anticipation of what is yet to come. Sure it’s a little gimmicky with the balloons and streamers and such but it’s all in good fun and meant to show support and love for the birthday girl/boy.

I just can’t wrap my head around why anyone would not want to take a day of leisure and happiness 1 time a year. Life can be stressful. Why not take a single day to think about yourself and to be thankful for what you have? I, as of January 16th, 2017, will have had 20 birthdays. I am incredibly lucky for that. There are millions of people who did not get to have that, so why not celebrate it?

“Birthdays are just so inconvenient! And they’re impossible to remember!” Oh really? Thanks to Facebook birthdays send notifications to your phone so that you don’t even have to remember. And it only takes about 30 seconds to send a Happy Birthday text to the recipient. I wouldn’t call that “inconvenient.”

If you find that a friend is unwilling to even send you a text message, or a phone call, or even say, “Happy Birthday” in person, you have found yourself a Birthday Grinch. These people can’t stand birthday’s and look for every reason to steal the fun from you. Don’t let them. Birthdays are a day for you! So go ahead and be needy, or quiet, or go to a party, or stay home, or whatever you want. For 24 hours you get to think about yourself and let your worries and stress wait until tomorrow. For 24 hours, you are free to do as you please. For 24 hours, you get to be you.