This morning I ventured out to Starbucks for my free birthday drink. As I’m handing my phone to the barista to scan, I said “Free birthday drink day! This is my favorite time of year!” She looks up, and says “Oh, honey, you won’t always feel that way.”
Wait, what?!
Okay, I get it, at some point women stop looking forward to or enjoying their birthdays. It doesn’t seem to effect men so much, they become…indifferent, it seems.
But why is this? Is there something that happens in your mid to late 20s that sucks the fun and joy out of your special day each year? Is getting older really that bad?! I get it, celebrations get smaller after about 21. It’s like after we hit that milestone, only the decades are worth celebrating, not the years in between.
Women start lying about their age, or claiming to stay the same age forever. It becomes rude to ask how old a woman is at some points. When did age become something to be ashamed of? When did 30 become an expiration date?
I turn 28 today. Do you know what that means? I’ve lived 28 amazing years. Has every single day been amazing? Not really, but collectively, I’d say I’ve had a pretty good life up until this point.
But do you know what it really means? Today I start year #29…and that means a whole blank slate, 365 days of potential amazingness are right here in front of me. On June 1st, 2017, I can look back and say, holy crap, that was an awesome year, how can I make year #30 even better?
Will everyday be 100% pure awesome? Unlikely. Heck, even this morning started out with some disheartening emails and calls. But hey, I don’t have to let it ruin my day. I can sing at the top of my lungs while I run boring errands, grab my free Starbucks drink, come home, do cool things, and be happy because I CHOOSE to be happy.
A birthday simply marks the passing of another year of your lifetime. It’s up to you to decide how you spend that year. If you’re spending it settling for mediocracy, then maybe you are sad it passed. But that’s a choice you made. The years are going to pass either way, you might as well make the best of them and celebrate the close of another awesome year rather than pretending it didn’t happen.
So let’s all commit to making our next year absolutely amazing so we have something to celebrate. Whether you’re a 28-year-old mom of 5, or a 57-year-old Starbuck’s barista, it’s up to you to choose how you spend each chapter of your life. Are you going to go out and soak up the experiences, give love, be kind, and do amazing things or are you going to live the same year over and over again until you die?
The choice is yours.
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