Those Who Show Up for Your Birthday are The People Significant in Your Life
You take a picture of your next birthday celebration, whose in it?
Those who you celebrated with that day, are they still in your life? Do you still talk to them? Have they been your friends forever? Are they your family? Is it your dog?
The next time you celebrate your birthday your dog might be dead or your friends in the photo are strangers again.
This is something I noticed on my 25th birthday.
That the people in your life, those that you share your birthday with, are probably the most significant people in your life.
Or maybe you’re just desperate to fill a group quota.
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When I turned 24
I just moved to New York two weeks prior. It was 2021 when we felt not as scared to enjoy our celebrations for the most part… until the next wave came along. Naturally, I was ecstatic. I had just moved across the country on a whim and had an endless wheel of fresh opportunities to do that day and for once did not have to think about traffic or carpool situations.
But I was alone.
Of course, I had those who celebrated me from afar which I cannot discount. However, on that day it was just my sister and me and that was okay.
She was a significant person in my life and never before had we just celebrated my birthday with just us.
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Then it was 25
I spent most adventures in the city alone during my 24th year.
I ditched Bumble BFF two months into moving which also meant I wasn’t looking online for a partner to enjoy adventures with either.
My job made it difficult to attend events I saw on Tik Tok.
I wasn’t exactly the extroverted type to send a Bat Signal on social media and start some new City Girl Walk.
And so this left me with
friends I made at work.
To my dismay, the people I have become friends with at work have been more than just work friends
I have never been more in a work environment where those that I have allowed into my space have been welcoming, supportive and genuinely wanted to be friends.
I asked 15 people to my birthday party.
10 showed up.
When I told my sister the next day how many people came she said,
“10? I would be lucky if I got one!”
It wasn’t about the number though.
Each of those people has played a significant role in my life in New York, whether they were the second ticket to a museum I would’ve only bought one for,
whether they begged me to come to have dinner in their home
whether they gave me a moment of their time to listen.
I was simply grateful.
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The photograph that was taken that night may not look the same next year
To be honest, I might be in a different place, with different folks, but still in a place of gratitude.
I might not know anything about their lives in the next year.
I might not have spoken to them ever again.
But for a moment they were significant in my life.
They showed up for me and I could not have been happier.
So, my question for you is,
who are you inviting to your birthday this year?
