Birthday Extravaganza Weekend

This weekend was Danielle's, Maddie's, and my Birthday Extravaganza. Every year, the weekend before the weekend before exams, we celebrate all of our birthdays together and give each other presents (since all of our birthdays are after college lets out). Maddie had me for our gift exchange, so she gave me a spoon necklace and all of this really awesome friendship bracelet string. Look at all of those colors, the possibilities are endless.

It's Not Even My Birthday

After stepping outside of my dorm today and not being able to see my own breath, I realized that spring was (almost kind of) here! Besides the amazing weather and dramatic increase in the amount of time everyone spends outside, the best part about the beginning of spring is that it means my birthday is coming!

Birthdays are the best. Without fail. Since I am still at the age where growing old is cool, I see birthdays as a fun way to celebrate life, while acquiring free things, eating fancy people food, and hanging out with friends, whether it's my birthday or someone else's.

Every year for my birthday, I like to listen to songs that have my age in them. Here are some of those songs (I genre-hop for these, since it's usually the poppier songs that mention ages)

15. (Fifteen-Taylor Swift)

16. (You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine)-Ringo Starr)

17. (Edge of Seventeen- Stevie Nicks)

 18. (Soco Amaretto Lime- Brand New)

19. (Nineteen-Teegan and Sara)

Etc. I have probably missed tons of songs, feel free to add any in the comments! Also, if it's your birthday or near your birthday, Happy Birthday! (If it's not, Happy Un-Birthday!)

Got Postcards From a Former Self Saying "Howya been?"

I have a weird love of writing things to myself. Letters, journals, blog posts, etc. I just love the idea of being able to look back on my life, whether I am laughing at myself, wishing I could tell myself what I know now, or looking at the things that have happened to me in a new way. Since I am in my hometown for Spring Break, I have the time to reread a lot of my writings and cringe at my awkwardness on paper.

Here are a few of the types of things I write to myself

Birthday letters- I love to make bets with myself on my future and see if they come true. It's also nice, when I am in a low place in life, to think about a future where things will improve (because I am an optimist and heart and also because I have a spring birthday, and everything is perfect in the spring).

Wills- It's super morbid, and I usually try to listen to happy music when I write it because it creeps me out, but I feel like it's necessary. You never know when you are going to be eating dirt sandwiches (Stephen King's words, not mine), and I would like to be prepared so that the few things I have won't just sit around in my room collecting dust.

Letters for when I am 46- When I was 16, I was talking to my dad about his life, and he said that it would have been interesting for him to remember what he wanted his life to be like by the time he was 46. Inspiration hit, and now, every so often I write myself a letter predicting what my 46 year old self will be like.

A "must read" books list- This list is so ridiculously extensive, and it keeps getting longer. For every book I cross off, I feel as though I add five more. This is especially true since I just discovered Write Bloody, a publishing company that puts out amazing works of poetry/short fiction/etc. ( I just put like eleven of their books on hold at the library).

This blog- As much as I am writing this for an audience, I also write this for myself to a certain extent. I like looking back at the things that I write in order to see how I can improve, and how I have grown, as a blogger and as a person.

You don't even have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist in order to write things to yourself. It's awesome!