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.

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.)