ATTENTION: I began writing this post the week of my birthday and left it sit for months without finishing it. So although it sounds like my birthday is coming up, it really was nearly 4 months ago. Oops.
Yesterday I went to pick up my prescription from the pharmacy and as protocol they make you confirm your name and birth date. As I said my birthday aloud, I thought to myself --Oh my god, my birthday is in less than a week! When did that happen??--
As we grow older birthday's become less... exciting? important? celebrated?
I guess maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be a common trend among me and my close friends. Not saying that birthdays are completely forgotten about or go uncelebrated, but they just don't have the same type of excitement and recognition as when you were younger (& by younger I mean every year up through your college years). Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining about it and I don't expect some huge party thrown in my name, I'm simply just observing the way things seem to change. Instead of making a big deal out of every year it becomes every year that ends in '5' or '0'... and then it turns into just the years ending in '0', but if you are lucky enough to live for many, many years people will again start celebrating the years that end in '5', and if you live to be very, very old [think 93,94, etc.] you might even get big celebrations every year again. Interesting how that works, isn't it?
As we all know, January 1st is the start of a new calendar year. That is when we set out to accomplish the goals we have chosen to conquer over the next 365 days. We view new calendar years as a blank slate, a clear board, that we can design and fill with whatever we choose. For example, I did just this when I made my list of 15 by '15. I made a list of fifteen things I was determined to complete by the time January 1st came around again. Now, being nearly half way through the year, I should have about half the list complete..right? Well, I don't. Looking back and reading over what I set out to accomplish I realize that I will probably fail at completing my list. I won't be able to accomplish all fifteen of the things I wanted to, whether the reason be time, money, or I simply lost interest in what I once wanted to do (just a mere 10 months ago).
Many of us give ourselves a second opportunity each year to look at the future with clear eyes and full hearts. With that day being our birthday. Some people post on social media something along the lines of "I don't know about you, but i'm feeling 22!...excited to see what this next year has to offer" while others may be thinking similar thoughts, but just not posting it on the internet. I wouldn't say I necessarily make goals for the next year in age that I am, but I do sometimes wonder how I will look back on that year of life. For example, how people say "I think 19 was the best year" [or whatever age you believe to be true for you].
It's interesting really how we use the term year when referring to not only calendar years but birthday years as well. We can say '2012 was the best year of my life thus far' or '21 was the best year of my life thus far'. I think it's important to celebrate and recognize both of these new years. I'm not saying you need to make to-do lists or set goals each time these milestones come around... that isn't for everyone, but for some people it works. It is important to feel rejuvenated for the future as well as being able to reflect on all the amazing things [and not so amazing things] that have occurred in the past.
--Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose--
xo, Kaila
