When you hear the word “birthday”, what do you think of? Probably balloons and confetti. Loved ones gathered in celebration. Cakes with pretty icing and perfectly wrapped presents all waiting to be torn open with child-like vigor. Another year gone by! Another year older!
But then, in the back of your mind, do you feel that? Do you recognize that nagging, melancholic feeling?
Another year gone by… and what have you done?
Another year older…and you can never go back.
Suddenly, you are thrust into a whirlwind of nostalgia and yearning for time that once was, but will never be again. I think many can agree that the passage of time is a concept that is just utterly and undeniably terrifying.
A sense of monotony seems to have taken hold of our generation’s ideals surrounding birthday-related joy. Ani Nicolaus, a sophomore at Ithaca College shares, “On my birthday I expect a surprise or something I guess. But there’s never anything notable. It’s just another year.”
If you asked me about my experience with birthday-related sadness a few weeks ago, I’d have to agree with Ani.
As a late-June birthday girl, I was usually able to attribute my blues to the difficulty of gathering an abundant guest list due to sleepaway camps, family vacations and the myriad of other childhood obligations. Eventually, I got older. My guest lists dwindled, as did my annual birthday-related excitement.
It’s funny to me how kids can’t wait to grow up. I dreamt and dreamt about the days of driving myself to friends’ houses, taking trips independent of my family and entering an overall more independent stage of life. But then, when I woke up and realized that life was upon me, all I wanted was to go back. To regress to that former self who wanted so badly to skip ahead.
At some point in time, I began to ponder profusely about the importance of this one little day in one little girl’s life. I mostly took issue with the impersonal aura of it all. We share our birthdays with millions of other people across the globe. And beyond that, when our “special” day rolls around, no one even knows it’s your birthday! Why do we celebrate birthdays in the first place? Everyone is born. On a day. Why is it such a big deal?
Well, according to the unexpectedly poignant source Tiny Miny Mo’s article “The Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Your Birthday”, when we celebrate our birthdays “…we aren’t just reflecting on how long they’ve lived but also how much they’ve accomplished. A birthday gives everyone the chance to feel special and appreciate how much their loved ones care for them.”
Ithaca College sophomore, Jayda Miller, expresses a similar sentiment. “When I wasn’t in college, I cried every year on my birthday because I was expecting it to be great. And it was never great. But now in college, I found people who actually enjoy me as a person. It makes celebrating my birthday more about celebrating the love I’m surrounded by.”
Maybe, the key to enjoying your birthday is to stop seeing it as a reminder that time is fleeting. Instead, recognize that it is a milestone. It’s not another year gone. You made it through another year. As a final point, I think it’s important to acknowledge that nostalgia can be fun! What if we look at it as having lived a life worth remembering? Beyond that, it’s important to reflect on the past and validate our former selves. At our age, there is so much more life to live than has passed us by already. We are so caught up in making life count, we feel like any mistake is a waste of time. But really, aren’t those mistakes the exact things we should be celebrating every year? In the end, it is all of our experiences that make up the substance of life.
Eve McDougall is a second year Writing for Film, TV and Emerging media who wants you to know that it’s ok to shed a couple tears on your birthday. They can be reached at [email protected]