Hello everyone!
I saw the prompt (now last week's), procrastinated about writing, and then it slipped my mind. I like to talk about the birthday prompt, so even though it has expired, I still feel like writing.
Before now—I mean in the phase of life I am in currently—I used to be very noisy whenever it was my birthday. Back in school, I used to organize birthday parties where I invited friends to my hostel or lodge to have food, drink, dance, and laugh. Yes, it was not actually a big one, I mean, not a standard one, but one thing was for sure: I planned it well by cooking large quantities of food in the compound.
Of course, I was not the one doing the cooking—there were always ladies around to handle that. For music, we never hired DJs; instead, we used the sound systems in the hostel to play loud music. I used to have a lot of fun seeing people gather on my big day. The last birthday I organized in such a manner was when I was serving in a faraway land during NYSC. I was privileged to lead a group then, so I had all of them gather to celebrate my big day. We made African food(Eba and soup) in excess, and everyone ate and got filled. All through that one year in the faraway land, my birthday was the talk of the people in the area.
But now, what changed?
This is something I am still trying to figure out because money is not the problem. I never really spent much on those birthdays—I planned them well with careful cost-cutting.
It is not even maturity that changed everything, making me no longer pay attention to my birthdays. After all, I am not old enough to start overthinking things. In fact, there are people in their 30s, 40s and 50s still celebrating their birthdays. I just do not know why.
These days, whenever it is my birthday, I crawl into my deepest shell. I do not make any announcements—just a few people get to know: my family, friends who keep track of the date, and those who get notified on Facebook. This coming birthday in MAY, I really want to go back to my old ways of having fun on my birthdays. Maybe not as loud as it used to be, but I just want to mark it. I hope I do not change my mind.
How do I celebrate others on their birthdays?
Hey, I love celebrating my loved ones on their birthdays! Even when they do not come through for me—maybe because of my recent lifestyle of being low-key on my birthday—I still go all out for them. All I need is a little reminder on the day or some days before.
For family, of course, I know every member's birthday. On those days, I send money (maybe just a small amount), messages, and birthday wishes on social media. For friends, I also come through for them. I post about them on social media and give them some tips, depending on how things are at that time.
Thanks for reading.
Photo used is mine