A New Perspective On Birthdays

 

I believe I am correct in stating that many of us get depressed on our birthday, whether it be every year or just on those milestone birthdays. We get depressed because we are getting older and we aren't the young spring chicken we used to be. I was guilty of this for a period of time. It actually started pretty young for me. I would say the first time I was depressed about a birthday was at 25. I was upset that I was no longer considered to be in my early 20s. Ridiculous I know.

This all changed for me when I met my late best friend Jenn. She had Cystic Fibrosis and the life expectancy is quite young. She was already considered old at 30, being that the disease didn't take her life already. I still remember a statement she made on one of her birthdays:: "I did it. I survived another year." I was quite humbled in that moment, I realized that us "healthy" folks truly take birthdays for granted. 

I am tearing up as I write this realizing how selfish I once was, being upset on my birthdays, assuming I would get another. Truth is nobody knows when their time is through so if you make it to another birthday, be grateful. Rejoice in the fact that you "survived another year." Because really if you stop having birthdays, what's the alternative....