Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved birthdays. There’s something incredibly intriguing about the fact that a person was actually born on that day and it shouldn’t be taken for granted. However, I think the true reason I love birthdays is due to my mom.

When I was little, my mom would host extravagant parties for me and my siblings. They were completely do-it-yourself parties and all of them were her original ideas, yet they were incredible. I’ll take you through a brief journey of the Kotsen birthday extravaganzas.

The earliest birthday I can remember was a princess party at my old house. I remember dressing up in a princess dress that I loved and our guy friends in town were dressed as knights. There were so many more that I remember vividly, though.

There was the Spongebob party and the Webkinz party. One of my personal favorites was the Littlest Pet Shop party, where winning coins in games led to purchasing actual Littlest Pet Shop pets in a creative little "Pet Shop" she made (safe to say I had about 400 Littlest Pet Shop characters).

Other favorites include my brother’s Fear Factor party where I actually ate sardines or my younger brother’s Mario party where we transformed the whole house into a series of levels you had to pass in order to rescue the princess, my sister.

Even as I got older, she never stopped trying to one-up her last birthday surprise. She threw me a surprise party during a hurricane when we had no power and a masquerade ball for my Sweet Sixteen that had a mashed potato bar!!!

For my sister, she turned our basement into a rave that was equipped with black lights, a DJ, and body paint to celebrate her Sweet Sixteen and on my brother’s 21st birthday, she threw an appropriately-themed birthday bash in our backyard.

So thank you mom, for instilling my love of birthdays.

Furthermore, I think I love birthdays because my best friend (my sister) and I share birthdays exactly a week apart, with Halloween strategically right between us. So it has always been a time of mass celebration in my household.

Some people dislike birthdays. They say that there are too many high expectations and that people always get high hopes for their birthdays and then they just end up being ordinary. I disagree with this statement. Your birthday doesn’t have to be extraordinary in order for it to be special.

It’s a time where you get to hear from people you haven’t talked to in a while or when you get to hang out with friends. It’s a time when you can get away with practically anything without your parents getting mad or when you can annoy your siblings and they aren't allowed fight back. It’s a free pass, and there are only so many free passes in life.

So, enjoy your birthday and enjoy the happiness of those around you on their birthdays. You only get one day a year. One day out of 365 where you can stuff your face with cake, open some presents, spend time with family, use your “get out of jail free” card and celebrate the fact that you are alive. Enjoy it!