I read somewhere to treat your birthday as a day of how you'd like to see the rest of your year going - meaning - fill it with activities you'd see yourself doing in future. So every birthday now, I do stuff like; going to the florist's, eating a fresh loaf of garlic bread etc. etc.
Last birthday I accompanied a friend to a jewellers', she wanted to adjust a bracelet, I wanted to be around shiny things. I learnt about the silver market, got a discount for my friend and tried on lots of pieces for the heck of it. Also went to a buffet later, unscheduled. In the mundane, there are always beautiful moments.
Jun 2, 2024
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one of the most memorable birthdays i have had is a surprise birthday for my 18th or 21st and i absolutely hated it. i appreciated the effort my family went through to do it but it was my literal nightmare.
my birthday tradition is to spend it doing whatever i want and not feel bad about it. if that means spending an obscene amount of money on shoes i've been lusting after, heck yeah i'll do it. if that means spending the entire day at the cinemas, you bet i'm there. if that means going out with my friends or travelling, yeah i'm doing it. and sometimes i actually just don't feel like doing anything at all and that is sometimes a vibe too.
i think sometimes we are put under pressure to celebrate our birthdays in a certain way with others or throw parties but if that isn't authentic to you or you just don't feel like it, your birthday should be the one day of the year that you can do whatever you want.
Jan 8, 2025
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my birthday often falls the week of thanksgiving, so i usually just take the day off as a "extending the long weekend" if i don't already get it off. since i moved to the west coast ~3 years ago and most of my friends and family are back in new york, every year on my birthday in the morning i make sure to:
1. respond to every single birthday text i got, and if possible hop on a quick call with as many people as i can. basically just a gratitude practice of "hey as i've gotten older i've not only developed meaningful relationships, i've also held onto a lot of meaningful relationships."
2. eat breakfast out; i think my birthday breakfast for the last two years has been Oddfellows CafΓ© + Bar (oddfellowscafe.com), but taking the time to have an extra special solo (or with my partner) breakfast keeps the scaries at bay for at least a couple hours
3. going shopping for a birthday gift for myself in person so i have something to open when i get home.
after that it's pretty much just about having a couple extra things to do during my day like trying a new restaurant / going to a favorite for lunch, running a "fun" errand like dropping off film to get scanned, and then meeting local friends for either dinner out and / or cake and games back at my apartment, etc.
having something where i can look back and feel like i did something is all i'm looking for; i think through my late teens / early twenties i put a lot of emphasis on wanting my my birthday to feel "special" which meant it was doomed to not be "special" enough. since pivoting to having fun my birthday has felt a lot more special since it's just different from the monotony of a normal day, and there wasn't any extra pressure on it
Apr 1, 2024
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Every year for my birthday I just pick something Iβve been wanting to do/go to and treat myself. Previously itβs been: going to a vibey dinner place, going to the aquarium and sitting in the leopard shark room, going to an art museum. I like the peace of doing something alone and getting to just be like wow what a fun life I live and how much more there is to see! I plan things with friends too sometimes but this little practice ensures that my birthday is satisfying to me in some way even if my friend plans dont always go as Iβd want.
May 19, 2025
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it's totally cool to age and society still isn't equipped to deal with that.
Mar 27, 2024
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Sometimes you try your best and everything seems to hit the fan no matter how much you try, so you take that raincheck and take yourself out for a day.
Nov 27, 2024
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This is what I call it hahahah made by mums everywhere but the greased up version is sold along stalls in Mumbai. Two regular slices of white bread, buttered, and the middle filling is cream cheese with red onions, coriander/cilantro, tomatoes and some minced chillis. All veggies chopped mini cube size so they blend with the cheese. Toasted crispy.
Apr 3, 2024