Officially 21

I’ve been 21 years old for 14 days and it’s only now that I’ve got the time to write about how my birthday celebration went. My plan of going to Hundred Islands in Alaminos City didn’t push through even though I had enough budget for it. I just thought it could wait, so I had a change of heart.

The celebration, however, still made my 21st birthday the best so far. My friends and I gathered at a colleague’s house in Dagupan City where we also spent the rest of the night. Another friend—Glena—would have her birthday the next day, so she bought Pancit Bihon which we ate at dinner.

It’s happening—my 21st birthday.

Coming of age is dreadful for some because it means bigger responsibilities and fewer perks. And everyone expects you to be more mature and have a clearer understanding of things.

But I’m happy about my coming of age because I know I’m up to the challenges that the bigger world is about to roll out before me. I’m thankful that in the past years, I learned to be mature enough to understand things. Past events made me tough, honed my skills, developed my personality and crafted me into who I am now.

Pre-birthday celebration at my grandmother's house on January 3. Burp!

Of course, I still committed mistakes along the way and tripped because of wrong decisions and the occasional irrational thinking. But I learned a lot from those experiences and became wiser in decision making and risk taking.

A year of sorts

That moment the fountain lit up and sent towering sparks that added to the glow of the night, I knew that 2012 would be such a colorful year for me. And it really was.

Now that it ended (and yes, apocalypse believers, 2012 made it to the finish line), I want to have a brief review of the past events that spiced up my year 2012. For each month, I thought of a word corresponding to and describing it, and why each word came up to my mind.

January-Fun

My birthday was a blast! I had the best celebration so far, though the outing that day at a resort in Pampanga wasn’t really meant for my birthday (which most of my relatives didn’t know. Hehe).

Holiday recall

“As little children we would dream of Christmas morn, and all our gifts and toys…we knew we’d find but we never realized…a baby born one blessed night…gave us the greatest gift of our lives…”

Undeniably, when we were kids, we never cared for anything on Christmas day but the gifts we received that we believed came from Santa Claus who would sneak into our house through the chimney (ironically, houses here in the Philippines do not have chimneys, and has nobody ever wondered where he would try to get inside the house?). As we grew up, we had absorbed the real meaning of Christmas, why dawn masses were held before the 25th, and for whom we would really celebrate the occasion.

But, of course, it feels good to relive childhood memories—those times that our concept of the yuletide season was shallow, when a small simple gift would draw curves on our lips and when upon seeing Christmas tree covered with colorful and dancing lights, the joy in our hearts would ignite.

I remember spending Christmas day at my grandmother’s brother’s beautiful house in Marikina City where I played games with other children whom I didn’t even know (were we related to one another?). Toys were prepared and wrapped as prizes for the winners. Of course I got some—a ball, a set of power rangers, a toy gun and other toys I can no longer recall.

That's me, the baby in red shoes, when I was about 1 year old.

Fun served in a Mug

Imagine you’re bar hopping one night. You order your favorite beer or whatever drink you like and at one gulp, you suddenly realize that you’re tired of the usual. Do you have some place in mind where your excitement will level up, somewhere new and unique that you’ll love instantly?

Well, I do and have experienced it myself. Owned and managed by Rose Quizon and her daughter, Ren, Mug Shotz Sports Bar is now making a name and building up a new sense of excitement in the bar and restaurant industry in Calasiao, just a 10-minute drive at most from Dagupan City.

Savoring the ride

I’m not an “It’s-the-end-of-the-world-today” believer, so instead of preparing my ass for that doomsday almost everyone is talking about, I choose to do something else: Start the countdown to my 21st birthday.

It’s going to happen in 17 days. There will be no big party, but the way I’ll celebrate my special day on January 7 will still be big for me in some ways. And I know exactly what to do, something I’ve been looking forward to for years. (But I won’t divulge it yet lest it gets pre-empted. Hehe. And hopefully, I get the budget for that.)

To someone I can't lose

Dear New-Found-Love,

It was an accident. I never meant to seriously like you the way I do now.  I never intended to fall in love deeply with you the way I am about to. We’ve known each other for months now and have become close to each other. And the more I get to know you, the more I get drawn. Your personality may not awe all the people around you, but for me, it’s perfectly fine. I like every inch of it, actually, though there are really some parts that you have to tone down and augment.