Birthdays

Hey all,

So I was reading about Hayler G Hoover's birthday celebrations on her blog (which I read religiously) and it made me think about my birthday, which was yesterday, and then I decided to rant about it here. Because ranting about things is what I do best.

I've always been that person that only has a really close group of friends and then a whole bunch of people that can be classified as being in that weird stage between acquintance and friend. This doesn't bother me, its the way I like it and I completely adore the people I am close to. Its just that it makes things a little weird when it comes to birthdays. I turned 18 last year and I decided to throw a party, celebrate the whole 'coming of age' thing that so many people talk about. Mum and Dad agreed, I designed invites in my own non-creative style and I set a date. That all went well and then I came to thinking about who to invite. My core group. Check. But that gave me a total of ten people and that was hardly a party. Then I added their significant others. Okay, a grand total of seventeen. Thats when it became hard. Which 'sorta-friends' did I invite? Do I invite their significant others or is that awkward?

I sorted it out and about fifty people ended up coming to my 18th and we had a great night. It was just a really confusing situation for someone who doesn't have a hundred closest friends. This year I decided to only hang out with the people I really like and, ignoring even their significant others, we all grabbed lunch and I had a really great day. The weird thing was though the amount of people who wished me a happy birthday on facebook. Don't get me wrong, it was really nice to log on in the afternoon and have 45 new notifications of people wishing me a happy birthday. It just felt a bit strange considering some of them had been sent from people who I have only met once or who I haven't seen in a few years. Technology has taken us to a place where everyone from our closest friends to our acquintances know when its our birthday, know if we are in a relationship and know what events we are attending. I love facebook. I just think that next time a birthday pops up in my calender I may actually stop and think how well I know the person before I wish them a happy birthday, whether or not I would even know it was there birthday if I didn't have a facebook.

To close this wonderful ramble, birthdays are the celebration that you just want to spend with those closest to you, those who know you and love you. Because they will make you happy and thats what counts on ones birthday.

Cheers!