Turning 22

A couple of weeks ago, I turned 22 and this was the first ever birthday that left me with a strange mix of emotions. As I officially reached another year of existence, I realised what it was that made this year so different from the last, I always anticipated what lied ahead, this year however was not the case. This was all due to Covid-19, which left the future feeling so unpredictable and uncontrollable. Despite this as my special day approached, I felt a little lost and confused yet I was happy,very grateful but it just felt like this day was nothing more than just an ordinary day. 

I didn't really want to be celebrated though I still accepted and appreciated the generous gifts from my friends and family, I still had a beautiful family dinner and I still feel lucky to have lived another year. However deep down I felt bittersweet, I couldn't help but wonder why my life was being celebrated when so many others never will. As much as I do believe all life should be celebrated, it's incredible that once a year there is a day dedicated to each and every one of us. Though there are millions of people in the world that don't have that. There's no record of their birth, no clock to track time, no calendar to tell the date, no phone to set an alarm and no facebook to use as a reminder. 

We have reached a point in society where people need validation by the number of birthday wishes they get on their facebook timeline, number of likes on an instagram post or an updated profile photo from people they haven't even been in contact for years. But numbers shouldn't validate your worth, respect and self worth should play into verification of your worth. There's no amount of likes in the world that can validate how anyone should feel about themselves. 

I think what's influenced me to keep my birthday so low key is that I wondered what it would feel like for the millions of people who will never know their birthday or the feeling of sheer excitement of waking up to gifts and people celebrating their life. They wouldn't know any different and on this particular birthday, I just wanted to be thankful for growing another year older and to live a normal day as it was, be able to relax and be thankful for the kind wishes and generosity. 

21 was one of the most hectic, stressful but eye opening years I have ever experienced, It was filled with so many emotions but it taught me so much not only about life, but myself (stay tuned for another blog post on this).I'm so grateful to have such supportive friends and family that are thankful for my presence but gifts are so materialistic and unimportant to me. The most precious gift in life is gratitude and we are all very fortunate to even know the day that we are born. 

So here's to turning 22, another lap around the sun x