The word "birthday" just gets me excited. I'm enraptured by the celebration of another year of life and electrified by the diverse methods of celebrating. Certainly my life is teeming with an array of impressive birthday festivities, from my full-house bash at 13 up until my surprise 21st last year.
There's just something about a day that's all your own. Not in a self-absorbed way, of course, although I think we can all admit that having more than 100 virtual well-wishes would slightly inflate even the most airtight of egos. No one will ever forget your birthday as long as Facebook is still socially relevant. But that's neither here nor there.
The birthday boy or girl exudes something different on their birthday, at least in my experience. Without even telling anyone about my special day, I feel different. Each passing glance seems somehow friendlier. Classes fly by and work gets easier. It's like that feeling that your life has theme music when you're listening to headphones. It's your own personal bubble of glee and it is wonderful.
My birthday this year had no shortage of glee, but it was certainly a divergence from years past. I love a good celebration, but I lacked a certain zeal for planning when the time came. Things which were a joy to prepare only a couple of years ago suddenly seemed like a hassle.
A few of my friends approached me about my plans for birthday 22, which, for them, was more like asking how to adequately prepare for whatever sort of hurricane was about to rip through Charlottesville. I think it surprised them when I announced my lack of intent to do anything special this year. I used the phrase "just another day," which, I'll be honest, surprised even myself.\nI like to think it had a lot to do with growing up. As a child, I didn't get excited about seeing my friends or eating my cake. I wanted all my friends to see me eat my cake and open my presents; that's all. I would be eating and opening gifts anyway, but I needed an audience to really set it off. Chalk it up to my dramatic nature, even at a young age.
This year was different. No one wants to be a downer on his own birthday, so I opted for a small get-together at my apartment with only a few friends.
There were no banners, no presents and no surprises. There was, however, one amazing double decker cookie cake with chocolate icing in the middle. I can give up many things, but I am still a human. We ate and recalled all of our memories together from three years ago, when we were all just becoming friends as first years. It's amazing how quickly time goes by, but birthday 22 is hardly the time to meditate on that.
After a few hours of nearly nonstop laughter, we called it a night and went our separate ways. I was left to ruminate on another birthday now in the past.
I will admit, it was unlike any celebration before, but I could only sit back and feel extremely thankful. Anyone can set up an event page, upload a random party-themed image and invite 400 of their closest Facebook friends under the theme "MY 22ND BIRTHDAY!!!" I have no doubt that it would be quite awesome. I would go.
I enjoyed the laid-back approach, however. What I found on birthday 22 was contentment. I may not know exactly where I will be in one year, post graduation, but I have no doubt that I will look back at my last undergraduate birthday with satisfaction. I could not be more thankful for the people in my life, and no amount of confetti, balloons or gifts can amount to the value of these relationships.
I guess the next milestone birthday to be celebrated is 30, and I will certainly take my sweet time getting there. This year was about living in the moment and celebrating the friendships that have taken years to cultivate. Birthday 22 was less about celebrating my own life and more about honoring the ones I don't think I could live without.
And if I get a present or two, well ... that's just icing on the cake.
Tyler's column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at t.deboard@cavalierdaily.com.
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