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For the First Time, I Had No Grand Birthday Wish
Plus, no cake, no drinks, no party
Another September, another birthday.
It meant the warm words came flooding in, congratulating me on clocking another year. Thankfully, I had the fewest birthday wishes and presents this year — by design. Scanning through the messages was easier.
While at it, one message in particular caught me cold.
“May your wishes for the new year come to pass,” it read.
Thinking deeply about the message, I asked myself what my wishes were this year. Then the reality struck me. For the first time, I have no real birthday wish.
Deliberately subdued, and that’s fine with me
At the start of 2024, I hid my date of birth from all my social media accounts. That way, many people won’t see my date of birth on my profile. That was the first — and boldest — step to observing my birthday on the low.
Over the years, when it was my birthday, I’ve had people say kind words to me on dozens of WhatsApp groups. And responding to them all was more work than I imagine.
And that’s not counting the many phone calls and old-school SMSs I receive. I try to get through all of them. And it’s a massive challenge.
