| Issue #49, March 16, 2007 |
Inspirations
Growing older and reflecting
By Emily J Weitz
As the years begin to pile on top of each other and birthdays seem to sneak up from behind, I have noticed my peers slowly growing less enamored with the idea of birthday parties. Whereas in the fourth grade, no student in my class would casually let a birthday slip by, I now see people letting it happen all the time. I implore you, though, don’t let your birthday roll by without the proper due. It is just as miraculous that you are turning 30 as it was that you were turning 13, just as wonderful to be alive at 90 as at 19. Arguably more so.
Birthday parties offer you an opportunity to celebrate who you are and the ways in which you’ve grown with the people who love you most. Bringing the people who helped shape you into one room for a jubilant celebration is one of the great things in life. Life is precious and it’s to be celebrated. So if your birthday is coming up or you are aware of a good friend who’s trying to shrug off the weight of another year, plan a party. It’s a healthy dose of celebration that is in high demand in this generation, where youth is glorified and aging dreaded.
The People: When you decide to honor yourself or a loved one with a birthday party, the MOST important thing is the people. My friend decided to organize a birthday party for me last weekend and she asked where I wanted it. I knew that we could go to a swanky restaurant in the West Village or we could hit up a chic club in Chelsea. But I thought about whom I wanted there and what I wanted to be doing. I wanted as many people as I loved in one room as possible and I wanted to be talking, reminiscing, and making new memories. Bumping and grinding are not on my list of activities to accomplish on momentous occasions. We decided to have the party at my friend Laurie’s apartment in the Bronx, where everyone could pour in through the front door, and there was enough floor space that the party could continue until the last guests dropped. There was no pressure. We kept it easy and accessible to everyone, and we didn’t ask for much – just that everyone bring a dish or something to share.
I wasn’t sure if people were going to make it. The Bronx is a haul, even for Manhattanites. But they came in in droves. Up the Garden State Parkway, down the Mass Pike and across the Throgs Neck Bridge, they converged on me from all angles. I had my oldest friend in the world standing beside the girl I met on my first great adventure abroad. I had my college roommates, my high school crew, my first boyfriend and my current. It was “This is your life,” and it made me feel so incredibly lucky to be living it.
Birthdays are so important because, like all ritual celebrations, they give you a moment to pause and reflect. When the years pass by unmarked, they all seem to blend together. In an attempt to reflect on what’s happened, you may find yourself asking, “What have I done lately?” When you allow your birthday marker to separate the chapters of your life, you can look back and reflect on how the year went and whether you want it to go differently in the new year to come.
A year is a long time and each one that passes has its ups and downs. But I’ve had years where I’ve thought, “How lucky can I possibly be?” and others where I’ve thought, “Wow. That was a tough one. I hope the next year is better.”
It’s nice to be able to indulge in this self-reflection with the people who have helped to make you who you are and the people who have fed your memories. The years build up in their faces too, laugh lines forming around my best friend’s eyes where only eyeliner used to linger. Another year reminds you of how quickly life unfolds, how quickly you have to get to living the life you imagine. It’s a chance to start fresh- a New Year’s celebration just for you. What are you going to do with this one wild and precious life?
 |
