I was a little worried about my birthday, seeing that I’d have to celebrate it for the first time away from my family and friends — but I’ve discovered my new favorite part of college: the Birthday Week.
In the days leading up to my birthday, I was slightly confused about how this shindig worked. I love love love birthdays, so I wanted to tell people and celebrate properly, but I just wasn’t sure how to go about it. I didn’t want to make my new friends feel weird, because we don’t know each other all that well yet and I definitely didn’t want to be the girl who went around shouting about my birthday…but luckily I have two dear friends who came from my high school, so they knew about my birthday without me having to tell them. (So they spread the word. Whew.)
And let me just tell you, birthdays in college are pretty rockin’. College is basically a giant sleepover with all of your friends, and therefore, you get a lot of love and surprises. My cute friends baked me a delicious cake and threw balloons at me at midnight. They might have taken part in another Fuman tradition, which involves being thrown in the lake, but we’re not going to talk about that…
Of course, your birthday isn’t about the gifts. It’s about the people. And I have discovered that the people at Furman are awesome. They were so thoughtful and lovely and kind — a girl on my hall folded the laundry I left in the dryer, and I got the sweetest messages from people on my hall and in my classes.
As it turns out, college friends are all about the Birthday Week. So, we’re still celebrating. The Birthday Week is a great excuse to eat that extra DH cookie, or make a milkshake run at 11pm. I’ve discovered that the Birthday Week applies to your friends as well — if they want to eat Nutella with a spoon or watch another episode of Friends before starting that essay, why not? It’s my birthday week. It’s absolutely the epitome of college-age logic, but we have to experience this lack of caring at least once in our lives. What better excuse than a birthday?
Birthdays are wonderful, they’re a day to celebrate YOU. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate others. So, if you want to get me a present for my birthday, please do. But let that present be an unexpected act of kindness. Something as small as holding the door will work — but please go out and spread the birthday love.
xoxox
lovelyleahp
