on my 18th birthday, i was away from my family. it was the first time i'm to celebrate it with any of them. i was in the university then, living at a dormitory with only new found friends to celebrate it with. i remember that i didn't have much planned for that day for a couple of reasons. first, it was a weekday and therefore, i had classes. second, most of the people in the dormitory were cramming because it was exams week. just the following day, we were to have a major exam, one where unlucky people need to take the course twice. as freshmen, we were not planning on taking it twice! third, i didn't have money for extra expenses at that time and i don't remember asking my parents for some! hehe
so there, i only planned on going to mass and then study.
the night before my birthday, i didn't even see my friends. as my usual ritual, i went to my friends' room but nobody answered. it was puzzling but i didn't mind at all because it was exams week.
in the morning, as i opened my door to go to the bathroom, lo and behold! i was surprised because there was a big greeting poster in front of our room! i was amazed to realize that my friends were keeping quiet in their room the night before just so they could put it up early in the morning. i still have that poster up to this day...
during the day, my friends kept on asking what my plans were but as i didn't have any, i just told them that i'm going to church. they insisted that i wear something girly, as it was my special day. so just to get them off my back, i wore a skirt and blouse with matching sandals. that was the best i could do then since i loathe wearing dresses before. so off i went to the six pm mass...
when i arrived back at the dorm and my room, i was suddenly paged and had to go to the lobby for a visitor. guess what greeted me??? my all-time crush that time was waiting for me, carrying a bouquet of flowers and i could see my friends there, orchestrating the whole thing. i bet they even bought that bouquet so that the guy could give me something hehe... so i took the bouquet from him and started to get back to my room when he/they led me somewhere else. i was so clueless as to what's happening until we arrived at the dormitory garden where eighteen roses and candles were waiting for me.
what surprised me most was that my aunt and cousin were also there. at last, family! apparently, my mom called my aunt to ask her to come on my birthday. thankfully, she brought enough food to add to what my friends had prepared. as i write this, i realize that they must have spent too much on me on that day just to give me a memorable debut and i can't help but be thankful for having them for friends.
so on that night, i had eighteen roses from eighteen wonderful guys who were willing to dance with me that night - some friends from home, some classmates, and some guys who i only see at the dining hall - guys who were willing to make one girl's day special. thank you.
so on that night, i had eighteen wishes from my eighteen candles. my girl friends in the dormitory - all very special girls who went that extra mile to make a lonely girl feel happy on her eighteeth birthday. thank you.
as i think back on that day, i can never ever forget what these special friends have done for me, and i can't ever thank them enough. i pray that God will bless them always. i thank God He gave them to me as friends.
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when i was a kid, i can only count the times i had a real birthday cake. i don't think we were that poor but i don't remember much cake on birthdays, especially the ones with lots of icing on it. i remember a birthday cake made by mom. it was a chiffon cake covered with caramelized condensed milk. it was yummy!
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but i guess it will be my sister who's got the most memorable birthday celebration ever. she was born in the season of typhoons. on this particular birthday of her, my parents prepared some food and cake for her but as the day went on, the rain didn't stop pouring and eventually, our home got flooded. the water on the first floor reached about a feet high. we had no electricity and only the sound of rain and thunder can be heard throughout the night. yet it was still a happy time. instead of wallowing because of a lost birthday celebration, my parents took all the food up to their room, including the cake, and with candles around, started singing happy birthday to my sister. it was an "exciting" moment for my sister so didn't mind much about it. as far as i can recall, she was still pretty excited about it all. as i think back, maybe it was because she would have something to tell her friends when she gets back to school! hehehe
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so enough of these stories. did you guess why i'm writing this? i am turning a year older next monday! yey! :) and i'm planning on doing something now! don't forget to greet me! :)
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