Don’t get me wrong, it was a great birthday. I ate too much Mexican food and about 25 cupcakes, and I was surrounded by people whom I love. It was absolutely wonderful.
But there’s something about birthdays that just isn’t the same without a cake and without birthday candles. Yes, some people hate cake and prefer pie or like to stick to a strict vegan diet and eat watermelon and yogurt for their birthdays, but it’s the concept. Birthday cakes with candles. At home, my family will jam a candle into just about anything, including but not limited to Pop Tarts, Rice Krispie Treats, bagels with lox, donut holes, jelly rolls, sandwiches, cupcakes, pancakes, and of course, a birthday cake.
If I could, I would’ve come to college and done the exact same thing. In my world, birthdays look like this:
However, college likes this a whole lot better:
And unless you want an unpleasant run-in with campus safety, I would recommend abiding by the rules. I was tempted otherwise. People have been eating cakes similar to contemporary ones and blowing out candles since the 17th century. That’s over four hundred years of huffing and puffing to extinguish the fire and dig in, but I couldn’t. And it made me a little bitter.
However, despite my bitterness, it occurred to me that this was a weird form of homesickness that I was ignoring. I was without my family, friends from home, dogs, and birthday candles. I had never experienced a birthday without them before. I wanted any little piece of home I could have here, and it felt like candles were the closest I could get.
It wasn’t. Being surrounded by wonderful friends in a wonderful place where my dining hall wishes me a happy birthday on Facebook (thanks, Peirce) was just as special as any birthday I could have had at home. Yes, I yearned for certain little things at home, but spending my day giggling and stuffing my face with my friends was fulfilling to say the least, and I think anyone can have the same experience. You only get one birthday a year until, well, you don’t. So try to focus on what’s here with you instead of what’s not.
So, even though you might be tempted to do this on your birthday and light up like the Fourth of July:
I would recommend sticking to one of these babies:
And remember that what makes birthdays special is not the flames on top of a cake or rituals you cannot perform at college, but being surrounded by people you love and enjoying every minute of it.
Image Credit: G. Alexandra, Scent of a Warmer, Off Clouds, Themes