This is a last-minute blog post before I head to the North for a vacation.
Why do we celebrate birthday anniversaries anyway? Do we really have to be reminded that we're a year older? Nowadays, my own birthday just depresses me and that's about it. On the 25th, I wish that there is nothing in the house to show that said day is another milestone in my life - another year gone by. So why do I not want to celebrate my birthday? I could come up with a lot of reasons or excuses for this such as “Sorry guys, I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning” or that it is a waste of money and energy, but the following are the deeper reasons.
“THEY ONLY SEND YOU CARDS OR GREET YOUOUT OF A SENSE OF DUTY OR SOCIAL OBLIGATION”
The reason is not because I do not want to clean up the mess or wash a pile of dishes taller than me afterwards or that I am a grumpy gentleman. It is more of a personal perception and feeling. I personally do not enjoy the psychological aspect of these days. For example, I have a tiny feeling of displeasure over few people who only make contact on birthdays. Magtetext lang minsan sa isang taon dahil birthday mo at pag ire-reply mo ng “thanks”, magrereply siya, “k”. haha nakakasakit ng bangs!
Isa pa, the brief messages on the card that had been written by someone else or forwarded text quotes about birthdays (na inipon niya sa inbox as template para i-send sa kung kanino mang may birthday) are, on few occasions, a bit irrelevant, inappropriate, NOT germane to, or perfectly reflective of the sender’s actual feelings for the celebrant. It is even worse when you know that they gave you a card or memento out of a sense of duty or social obligation. Nakakainis din minsan kung yong text na greeting sayo ay meron ka na non sa inbox mo para isend din sa ibang may birthday haha. If you are important and you mean something to these few people, this should be apparent throughout your life at hindi lang one text a year (dapat nagtitext sila ng magagandandang quotes para may pang-forward ka din sa iba, OR pinapasahan ka ng load, OR nagcocomment sila sa mga wall posts mo) haha!.....
“BIRTHDAY IS A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE PARA MAGDEMAND NG REGALO :D”
Birthdays are meant to mark our ages. When we were young, excited tayo na i-celebrate ang ating birthday kasi we get to receive a handful of presents, mostly toys at pag pera ang regalo, kukunin ni mommy at isi-safekeep nya raw muna baka mawala until you’ll forget about it na. When we get too old for presents, birthdays are celebrated so that our relatives and friends can make fun of us for being old grrrr! Besides, I think having a birthday party is just an excuse to eat, drink and be merry at the expense of the person whose birthday is being celebrated . Kesyo dapat ang celebrant ang mag-treat, mag painom or something else.
"WHO WANTS TO CELEBRATE AGEING?"
Birthdays are mere reminders that one is getting older and i don’t find a sane reason to celebrate aging/ageing (ano ba tamang spelling? haha). An older relative may even tell you this familiar line “you should be more serious now since you're already (insert your age here)”
Speaking of older relatives, another reason is because of the frustrating habit people have of partitioning you at certain ages. For instance, at 18 or 21 you are supposed to get the key to adulthood. At 22, “you should have a decent employment by now”. At 30, “it is time to settle down”. At 40, “why are you not married yet?” At 50, “you should have enough money for your early retirement by now” At 65, “dapat bonnga ang farmhouse mo” At 70, “pagandahan ng personal nurse”
A mentor once told me that, when you reach the age of 20, on average you will have 2,600 weekends left to experience in life. His recommendation was that you put the same number of marbles in a jar and pick one out at the end of each weekend. The goal is, when picking out the marble, you should reflect on how well you had performed during that weekend and resolve to do better during the remaining marble weeks.
Isa pa, I am not really comfortable being the center of attention. Minsan may program pa and as part of it, they would ask you to stand in front to either make a speech or tell everybody your birthday wish habang halos mabulag ka sa dami ng camera flashes haha bongga! I also am not comfy about the premise that you have to be really happy just because it's your birthday ... eh what if you had a bad day dahil halimbawa you were awakened because you fell off the bed (eh double-deck sya at sa taas ka natutulog) OR while climbing down the stairs you were reading greetings and text messages and your Iphone slipped off your hand and got smashed to pieces OR ikaw ang nadulas and you hit your head against the staircase at nabitawan mo ang phone mo?
Lastly, I am not happy to be constantly reminded that my life is not being spent efficiently or to its fullest. I’ll do better next year and make GIANT steps forward to make amends for my mistakes or for the delays brought about by procrastination and sluggishness. I know there are a lot of things to catch up on but on my birthday anniversary, I prefer to just open my eyes in the morning, thank God and my parents, and treat the day as ordinary and enjoy it for what it is and what it brings.
Thanks for your time and Happy holidays!
