I like birthdays. Eponymously, birthdays are the anniversary of your birth, celebrating particular milestones in a child’s life- the first few, precious years, perhaps the invitation into the double digits, 16, 20, 30, 40 years of age- putting the marker on the earth that you have been here for how long, yet also that your days are numbered. Each birthday is often remembered, often looked forward to, at least in younger years. I find with older folks that birthdays are less overly anticipated, glorified and exploited as a gift-receiving opportunity as a conniving young lad would, but a marker for time past, though still as sentimental, and overall happy as before. Be not afraid, birthday joy is preserved!

In a few days I will turn 16 and while the first few months will be wholly GCSE focussed, it overall should be an exciting time- Sweet Sixteen!

Because of my busy-ness, I’ve felt at a loss for what to do for my birthday. When my family would ask, I wouldn’t really know how to answer. I share my birthday with a friend. I asked him what he was thinking to do to celebrate, perhaps I could steal and idea or even do something together, I thought. He replied, ‘I’m going to play Roblox with [friend]- that’s about it’.

Honestly, fair enough. It wasn’t too far off to a realistic idea of my own birthday on the same day. I wasn’t planning on releasing the inhibitions put on me for the last 16 years and basking in the new found liberties and degeneracies of adult life, not drinking wildly in a pub with adult supervision, buying premium bonds or randomly switching my own doctor but to usher the new year and door to adult life with the opposite to an auspicious start- relaxing the day with family and hopefully getting some revision done. It isn’t going to be too different of a day to any other, I hope the days of my adult life continue as such.

I like birthdays, especially birthdays of family and friends, it feels less as a celebration the birthday child invites others to, as it was before, but a celebration a friend gives for the existence to their loved one- saying ‘On this day, years ago, you came into life. Thank you’.