“Why Your Birthday Is A Reason To Celebrate”

For as long as I can remember, I’ve thoroughly treasured birthdays. I didn’t just treasure them in terms of getting gifts from people, though of course, I had ridiculous and lengthy wish lists. No, I’ve just always enjoyed the idea of birthdays and thought they are an important part of life. When I was little, sometimes I would already have the theme, guest list and attire planned out for my party six months in advance. I had themes like Dora the Explorer, mermaids, peace signs and many, many more — all with extravagant decorations, favors and games included. I dreamt about the age which I was going to be next, thinking of all the grandeur that must go with being seven, or the simple maturity that is inevitable with turning 11. I’ve simply always thought the idea of having a day in which to celebrate your birth is a beautiful thing.

Nowadays, I’m surrounded by people, and therefore, by their birthdays at some point or another. It seems like every other day one of my friends is turning a year older, and I’m singing the birthday song to them. However, it often feels like I’m the only one who cares much about celebrating the day of a person's birth. When I hear it’s someone’s birthday, I get genuinely excited and thankful for that person. It reminds me how happy I am that he or she exists and how thankful I am for that person's mother and all of the work she went through to bring that unique individual into this world. Because that person was born, she can be with us today and live whatever beautiful life she's been given.

I don’t believe we should celebrate birthdays just to give people their day of fame or in order to idolize each person’s individualism. I think birthdays are a way to tell your friends you’re truly thankful that they’re alive and that you treasure their existence. You’re telling them that the day they came to take the corporeal form which they now reside in is worth appreciating and is a beautiful creation of God. It’s almost as if you gift people with things on their birthdays to try to express how much of a gift each person is to you just by existing. Birthdays are a day to celebrate the miracle that is a person’s existence, and it truly is a rare and beautiful miracle worthy of celebrating.

This seemed important and got me thinking. Not only is a birthday a day on which we should celebrate a person’s existence, but it is also a day when that person should be thankful for his or her mother, no matter what kind of relationship is between them. Thinking about each person’s birth might be freaky or weird for you, but childbirth is a natural and beautiful part of life that actually results in a life itself. Giving birth should be thoroughly admired. So, thank you to the mothers around the world for creating more birthdays.

All this being said, I think a birthday is a beautiful, simple little thing. Each one means a lot to me. I don’t necessarily think one needs a mermaid-themed party or an extravagantly long wish list of things in order to fully celebrate one's birthday. That’s just the form which my birthdays took because of who I am and how I celebrate. What I do think is that all people should be celebrated and should be told that someone is thankful for their existence — that the bodies which they possess are wonderful creations of God and that they are loved and admired for their souls that fill those bodies.