Can you believe we’ve been in quarantine for almost a year? 2020 felt so incredibly long, but now as we get closer to March 2021, it feels like just yesterday we were being told by school administration to pack up our dorms and travel home. By now, most of us have probably celebrated a birthday in quarantine. How was your quarantine birthday? Were you able to virtually celebrate with the people you love? Did a significant other try their best to make a socially distanced birthday just as special as a normal one? Did you go to bed that night upset because you couldn’t go out and celebrate the birthday you planned or did your family exceed expectations and make your birthday one to remember?
My birthday is at the end of April, so I was celebrating my 18th birthday about a month into quarantine, something I hadn’t experienced before. Your 18th birthday is arguably one of the most important birthdays. All year long I had been looking forward to celebrating with my favorite people. The plan was to take a few of my best friends and family and go to see my favorite drag queens perform in Madison, Wisconsin. However, when I was sent home from Montclair because of COVID, I sort of gave up on having a huge birthday celebration. I was okay with that! A party didn’t matter to me. All I wanted was for my friends, family and I to be safe and if that meant not going to hear incredible drag queens lip-sync Ariana Grande, that was okay with me. My parents noticed I was struggling a bit mentally since quarantine started, so they decided to go all out for my birthday. I was used to a certain kind of independence while living in New Jersey that I lost when I had to pack my belongings up and come home to Wisconsin. It was a bit of a culture shock. I was so excited to be home with my family again, however, it felt like I didn’t really get to finish my freshman year experience, you know? Everything seemed so unknown. We didn’t know when we were going to be back on campus, people were losing jobs, my family of six was getting used to being in the same house 24/7, which was a much bigger adjustment than we thought it would be. So overall, I wasn’t focusing on having a big birthday celebration. I just wanted to have dinner with my family, FaceTime my best friend and text the guy I was talking to at the time, (who is now my boyfriend of almost 9 months.)
The morning of my birthday, I woke up, took a long, relaxing shower, curled my hair, did my makeup and made my winged liner a bit too long, wore a new outfit that I had planned for months and played some Harry Styles. I headed upstairs and was greeted by my wonderful family with my favorite breakfast; over-easy eggs and bacon. My birthday had started out perfectly. Then my dad brought me two stacks of at least 100 birthday cards. He had Facebook messaged, texted and called all of the people who have made a difference in my life and asked them to send me cards. I read all of them and it made my mascara run a bit. Every person that helped make me into who I am now, sent me a card, sending love during such a funky time. It meant the world to me that my dad took so much time to reach out to so many amazing people and make sure that I felt special all day long. The day went along way better than expected. I was receiving FaceTimes and calls all day. I felt so incredibly loved and recognized. It was crazy! Then I received a package- the boy I was talking to sent me a present, I was so surprised. We had only been talking for a month so I didn’t expect him to send me anything. I opened it and it was the only present that I really wanted for my birthday. The “Fine Line” vinyl album by the one and only Harry Styles. Turns out, my now boyfriend had texted my best friend asking if I had the vinyl because he knew I collect records and bought it for me, two days before my birthday so it would arrive right on the 24th. I felt so incredibly special. To this day that vinyl is one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received.
From there the day just kept getting better and better. After the amazing meal of steak and baked potatoes, I thought we might just watch a movie and then head to bed like we usually do every night. However, my parents had other plans. They had sent my whole family as well as 30 of my closest friends a zoom link and I got to celebrate with them! It was so shocking to see all of their faces on the same computer screen. I felt so blessed because I thought if we were to have a party in person, all of my favorite people might not have been able to come. So by having the party on zoom, I was able to talk to so many different people, some people I hadn’t talked to in a very long time. It was amazing, so refreshing to see the faces of people who mean so much to me. My parents brought me a cake with Minnie Mouse on it (huge Disney nerd right here) and the 50+ people on the zoom meeting tried to sing me Happy Birthday all at once, which was the cause for some laughs because everyone was on their own tempo and rhythm. After the fire hazard of me blowing out 18 candles was complete, two more people joined the zoom meeting. I was so confused but as soon as I saw their usernames, I started tearing up. Two of the most iconic drag queens in the Wisconsin area were in my birthday zoom! I was screaming. A few of my conservative family members were a bit confused as to what was going on, but my friends and I knew we were in for two of the most legendary performances of our lives. I knew as soon as I saw the red latex gloves that this queen was going to knock us off our feet. She asked me if I was a fan of Ariana Grande. I responded with “UH YES!” Then the intro for “Problem” started and I fell to the ground. I could not believe I had the honor of having TWO outstandingly talented queens perform at my birthday party. This felt like a dream come true. I was standing the entire time. I just couldn’t believe that this was happening! I felt so lucky and grateful that I have such loving and caring people in my life. People that care enough to make what was thought to be a boring birthday, the best birthday I’ve ever had.
After a few more songs from the incomparable queens, I was able to stay on zoom with my best friends and catch up on life. We ended up listening to the same music and dancing together, which was adorable, watching my favorite people dance on my tiny laptop screen. Overall, this birthday was one that I will never forget. Not just because of the circumstances we are all still under, but because of how amazing it felt to connect with some amazing people and just relax. Living in quarantine can be overwhelming, being confined to the same space as the same people for so long, not getting to see those people that bring joy to your life, having to be so aware of your surroundings 24/7, etc. So being able to just breathe, let loose, eat some delicious chocolate cake, and spend time virtually with everyone that I love was truly the right form of therapy for me.
As we go into the 11th month of quarantine, it gets increasingly more important to check up on those that you love. If someone you appreciate is celebrating something soon; a birthday, a promotion, an anniversary, anything, GO ALL OUT! Make it a celebration they will always remember. Everyone needs new and refreshing things or experiences to give them some unexpected joy, take this time in quarantine to give that to someone else. If you live with that person, decorate your apartment or house as one of that person’s favorite places; Disney World, a different country, a scene from a movie, any specific place that allows them to leave that confined space for more than an hour. Order them their favorite food and pretend you’re their waiter. Set up a zoom meeting with their favorite people like my parents did! These acts of kindness allow that special person in your life to not feel alone. Just making sure those special moments don’t go unaccounted for just because of quarantine. It is still so vital for a person’s mental health to connect with those they are close to. So, if your partner’s birthday is coming up, your best friend got a 4.0 last semester, or if you and the special people in your life just need an excuse to be crazy and have fun (socially distanced of course), make it happen! Just go for it. Make sure your siblings, your parents, your best friends and your significant other are all feeling special and loved, even if you cannot be together in person.