I was thinking about birthdays in general and how they're celebrated till I heard this car crash. Loud, first the desperate screeching, then the collision, then the silence. Nothingness. And somehow rather instinctively I started praying that the person in the car wouldn't be hurt too bad, praying that hopefully he'd be okay. Life's just unpredictable that way. I guess I can't say much but, in the last few hours being fifteen, why do people even bother celebrate their birthdays? And what are they celebrating, exactly?

Cynically (or realistically, you decide), crossing yet another birthday just means these things: another year dealing with the unforeseen, another moment recovering from the unexpected, another year closer to an end. Or perhaps, celebrating a marked year to herald the fact that you're still alive through the ups and downs of the things and people trying to drive you up the wall or down to your grave; from natural disasters; laud the fact that after all those freak accidents reported on the news every year that you're still alive and kicking?

From some rather random googling, I gathered the following idea: "The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating - complete with lighted candles - in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year." So are we simply keeping to religion or perhaps just upholding an ancient myth we mayn't believe to be true?

Thought about this for a really long time and essentially realised, the birthday girl/ guy doesn't really celebrate his/ her birthday. It's the people around him/her that do. Yes, the birthday is the date that marks the birth of that person. But this date probably isn't as important to that person as to those who love them. And I do suppose that in loving that person, celebrating his/ her birthday seems to be a way of thanking Him for the day that person was brought to existence. And in celebrating that person's birthday, you celebrate them for being in your life, for simply being who they are. And that's all there is to it, at least to me; I think that's all that matters.

Bringing this back to context, was just considering this year. As part of some family tradition, we always go to an uptown restaurant to celebrate the day with some form of decadent indulgence. This year, I told my parents I didn't want to celebrate my birthday, to which I got slightly angry after their rejection of my proposal. Guess its clearer to me now, that I'd probably been pretty selfish at that thought.

They probably wouldn't read it here, but thank you mum and dad. Thank you for celebrating my birthday anyway. <3

Thank you D for everything, to S & E for the time and effort, and to the people who've wished me in the video, in school, through SMSes and all; for making my sixteenth such a blast.

Labels: Birthday, Family, Love, Thoughts