Birthdays are a time for self-reflection

Happy Birthday! Okay, maybe it isn’t your birthday quite yet, but today is my birthday. Well, not today exactly, because you are reading this after the fact, but today when I am writing is my  birthday. Time is confusing.) Anyway, even if your birthday isn’t until January, or if you were a summer baby, you are a great edition to this planet we call Earth. The world became a little brighter when you were born.  

I remember when I got to use all my fingers and thumbs to show how old I was—next year I will have to start using my toes. My mom took me and friends to  the Edgerton Explorit Center in Aurora (the coolest place ever), I had a “funfetti” cake (the kind from the box with the matching frosting), and I wore my most beautiful white shirt with lace details at the neck for the first time (and probably the last stain free time). 

No one cared how scraggly my bangs were, or how odd my favorite denim skirt looked. That birthday was my first with my sister away at college.  

College birthdays are weird. Your family is far away. You must buy or make your own birthday cake (or cheesecake). Freshman year, I sat alone in my room for most of the day, missing even the socialite roommate who had just moved out.  

Being an adult is hard. Birthdays become just another day to get up, do your homework and go to work. But that doesn’t have to be all there is to your special day. At least two thirds of you have a birthday that falls during the school year. 

Don’t let it be just another day. Get some party food, paint your nails, celebrate being alive. Take time to do something you love—I checked out a book from the library. Most Importantly, tell your friends. 

They can’t celebrate with you if they don’t know the date. Just one unexpected happy birthday makes the day so much more festive.  

Birthdays can also be a time of self-reflection to review your year and consider goals for the upcoming year. For me, that means focusing on a consistent early wake-up time, a habit I know will benefit my next year of life. 

The anniversary of your birth is a great time to look back on the year you just experienced (Snapchat memories anyone?) Find a few high points, smile at mistakes and awkwardness, check in with yourself.   

If your birthday is months, or just days away, don’t let it pass unmarked. Use the day as an opportunity for a positive self-review. 

Do something, even sharing  some cheesecake you got from Walmart with your roommate (or cat) can be a fun activity. Birthdays only happen once a year, and you are worth celebrating.