Why I really do love birthdays

Sometimes I like to pretend birthdays are just another day. And they are, really. But then my birthday comes along and I remember why I love birthdays.

Now, I may have tooted my own horn a little. I may have brought cupcakes in for my cohort like elementary school, and I may have wore an impossible-to-ignore grin today that signaled there was something special about today. Whether those things factored in or not, I have been made to feel so loved today on my birthday.

I've been on a high since yesterday. I'm not sure if it's all birthday related or if some of it is because it's the end of the week or what, but I have just been SO HAPPY today and yesterday. Mostly I am happy because I know that so many people care about me and are willing to indulge me with a hug today even if they aren't the hugging type. I also feel very, very content with my choice to move to Minneapolis. I already feel like I have my own community of people who care (even a little bit) about me. I think that, for one, makes all the difference.

So let me tell you some of the great things about my birthday:

• Waking up to warm cinnamon rolls baked by my roommate this morning, with one tiger-striped candle. 
• A package from my Mom, Dad and Jared with cookies and love
• Sarah making me a sign to hang on the door at the office so everyone knows it is indeed my birthday (if they weren't around for the first ten times I said it) and coming all the way from the MPC
• Hugs! Boy do I love hugs! (Especially Matthew's because he doesn't seem like a hugger)
• Kate coming over all the way from East Bank to eat a cupcake (oh, and wish me happy birthday!)
• My phone "blowing up" all day with facebook notifications, texts, and snapchats, including a picture of my brother and my dog Lizzie
• Knowing there are packages and letters on their way
• Taco Friday and conversing with some of the 2nd and 3rd years over lunch.
• Wearing my new Minnesota crew neck 
• Just hanging out with some of my cohort in the office without really trying to be productive
• Knowing that I'm going to get to eat a big fat cheeseburger for dinner for the first time since I moved to Minnesota
• Specific to this year: I no longer have to endure everyone's shocked looks when I tell them I am only 21 in a PhD program :P

So there you have it, some great things about my birthday. Birthdays, I know, don't always turn out quite so well, nor does everyone have the opportunity to celebrate their birthdays. For me, however, it always reminds that I am loved. People need that.

So, thank you.