Letters from TC: A Birthday Like No Other
Well hello again! It’s been quite awhile since I’ve written one of these. Although it’s become tradition for me to write a blog post on my birthday each year, this year is particularly unique. Due to the crazy circumstances I hope that more of you will stumble across this and give this a read, and to those of you that do…welcome!
If you’d asked me a few months ago how I planned to celebrate my birthday, I’d of told you that I was planning to take on New York City with two of my very best friends. On this day I’d be waking up in an Air BnB, to my friends singing happy birthday (annoyingly, and most likely off-key). We’d then gush over what to wear for the day, and have that typical over-dramatic ‘we getting old, girl!’ conversation. An overpriced but aesthetically supreme brunch would follow, and we’d cap it all off with a make-shift photoshoot somewhere in the city. Because my birthday falls on easter this year, I had planned just to have a great time with my friends. Nothing big or major.. because after all, how can I compete with Jesus?
If you were to ask me now, am I sad that all of those aforementioned plans have gone to dust? I’d tell you no! The reason is in large part due to the abundance of time I’ve had to think over this quarantine period. The news displays the disparities in our country ruthlessly, and now more than ever I have been given the time and space to practice a heightened level of gratitude.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.”
I have breath in my lungs, a roof over my head, and a job that supports my (frugal) lifestyle. My parents are pillars in my life, and my siblings and I are closer than we’ve ever been. My friends love me like I’ve never experienced before, and I feel that I am on the very brink of a new age of self discovery. The only thing missing perhaps, is a significant other, a ‘lil friend’ as my grandmother puts it.. but millennial dating is its own unique configuration that I’m still figuring out. That aside, today is a celebration of the simplicity of life, and the fact that through all of this chaos—I have forged my way into another year. I am proud of this, I am proud of me! The heightened popularity of my social media has brought a lot of sweet messages and supporters my way. I read every DM, and comment, and I appreciate them more than you know. So with all of that being said, if you must celebrate your birthday within the confines of your own home this year—do so with style, grace, and class. Do so with gratitude.
Oh, and one more thing… I’m getting OLD!
Much love,
TC!
