Like most people, when I pictured my 20th birthday, I pictured it big. Big dinner with family and a big night out with friends. I looked forward to getting a new outfit just for that night and doing my hair and makeup for hours. And for me, 20 is a huge birthday because it means I'm no longer a teen. I really thought it would be an insanely fun day with all my friends and family. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, and taking social distancing seriously, that dream of a big birthday was crushed. Honestly, I thought it would be a terrible birthday and I even thought I would be sad all day. But it actually turned out to be one of the best birthdays I ever had, for so many reasons!

So many people reached out

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Every birthday people get text messages from family members and relatively close friends. But for some reason with this birthday, a ton of people who I haven't spoken to in years reached out with birthday wishes! Some even citing that they felt terrible that I had to be under quarantine for my birthday and others saying they had to celebrate heir birthday under quarantine as well. It made me feel so special and like I'm not in this alone!

I found a new love for picnics

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I love the outdoors but I always found picnics annoying when I was little because the wind would somehow always manage to fling all the food and napkins everywhere but my mouth. I "gave up," on picnics when I was fifteen because I despised them (Yes, I am very dramatic). But since all restaurants were closed and doing only curbside pick up, I had no choice but to have lunch outdoors. And now... I have a new profound love (again, I'm dramatic)! Yes, the napkins still tried to fly everywhere but there was something really calming about being in the outdoors.

I still got to do my hair and makeup

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Even though the only people that were seeing me that day were my immediate family and boyfriend, I figured I still could try to look good. It was actually really nice to be able to do my hair and makeup and put on a relatively cute outfit that didn't consist of sweatpants. It also made me realize that I don't need an excuse like a birthday to do my hair and makeup to make me feel good. So now twice a week I make sure to put on makeup just to make myself feel a little less plain.

I ate everything I wanted...

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Believe it or not on my birthday I usually only eat a dinner that I love and a little birthday cake because I usually spend the night with my friends and don't want to be bloated. But now with no one seeing me, I had free range. And let me tell you out was incredible.

It made me realize whats really important in life

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I spent my birthday surrounded by people who really loved me. No, my birthday wasn't what I expected, but my family went all out! Seeing how much effort they put into making my day special made me realize that at the end of the day the people that matter most are family. And how can I ever regret spending my birthday with them?