22

I turned 22 about four days ago and it was any other day, or so I thought, to me. It seems like the anticipation I feel towards my birthday decreases with age. I'm not sure if it is linked to youth loss aversion. I've been seriously considering getting some anti-aging stuff to slap on my face daily. SKII? Recommendations would be appreciated ;)

However, as much as I would like to say that I nonchalantly went through my birthday without any fancy arrangements and treated it the way I saw it, I did not, thanks to my family, friends and my beloved boyfriend. I am not complaining though, because it truly is a blessing. To me, my birthday is just an ordinary day but to my loved ones, it is a significant day to celebrate my birth and it makes me happy to think that my existence is worth celebrating lol. A birthday is just a day, but it is truly the people around me, and not me, who give meaning to my birthday.

I've always loved the idea of birthdays though. Celebrating birthdays is always a good reason to gather and catch up with my family and friends. I also like attending birthday parties because they're always so fun, filled with good food and gives me a reason to dress up, theme or no theme. It is interesting how people can create so much importance for a day, but I get why: it is for remembrance and a reason to be happy. I mean, I woke up feeling on top of the world on my birthday and I can't rationalise why, because I had yet to receive birthday wishes/gifts/hugs/kisses/etc so I think this is all psychological and kind of an illusion hahaha.

Some people don't care what I think about birthdays and just want to know what I did so here I will start the typical birthday recall. I am in the midst of finals, therefore I didn't really have any mood or plan to go out and celebrate my birthday (on Saturday) because I had an important finance paper on Monday.

On my birthday eve, Javin and I headed to school to study. What he told me: he would buy me a slice of cake from Starbucks at midnight to celebrate my birthday and anniversary. I agreed.

What really happened: Near midnight, I got a call from Javin when he was in the washroom, telling me he slipped, suspecting that he injured his ankle. I quickly asked him where he was and headed there. Thinking back, I was quite stupid for not realising that the place where he "slipped" was not near the washrooms... When I got there, Javin jumped out of the bushes (lol) with a box and I was totally surprised. I opened the box and it was filled with clothes and some rings! I did not expect a gift at all because he gave me an early birthday gift about a week before my birthday, which is this white Haters snapback. His gifts were very thoughtful :') He got me the snapback because I bring a cap with me almost everyday because I use it to keep my face from the sun (both vanity and health reasons) and I was really bummed out when I lost my previous favourite black Haters snapback; a thick cardigan because I always get cold and my arms always start aching when I'm in cold/windy places (rheumatism guys, told you I'm aging); a black knee-length skirt because I like skirts but a lot of my skirts are short and can't keep me warm; a loose shift dress because I mentioned recently that I don't wear my dresses because a lot of them are tight or waisted and they feel uncomfortable, especially after a big meal. He even wrote me a card that was addressed to the special nickname he has for me.

On my birthday, Javin and I went for dinner to celebrate. What he told me a week ago: He said that we should still go out for a short meal since it is our anniversary too and I agreed. He told me that we would be going to a simple place near home to have dinner and just wearing a loose top, shorts and flip flops would do. I expected going to some hawker centre for some kickass vegetarian feast and looked forward to it.

What really happened: The cardigan and skirt he gave me were supposed to be my outfit for the night and we went to Greenroom Cafe, a restaurant that serves ethno-botanical cuisine, for dinner. The meal was okay and we both felt we had better. We had the Daikon pancake, Miso & Sesame Tofu with Osekihan, Mushroom Tofu Burger and two smoothies. I wouldn't return specially for any of the dishes we had, but if you ask me which I enjoyed the most, it would have to be the burger. The Daikon pancake tasted just like pajeon (a Korean pancake). After dinner, Javin said he wanted to bring me for dessert and chose Max Brenner at Esplanade. It was the best decision of the celebration because the chocolate lava cake was so good. I'm still thinking about it, even until now.

This year's birthday felt really special to me, because I didn't expect Javin to put in effort into planning a surprise/night out amidst finals and also buying a gift for me when he has his own financial responsibilities to fulfill. About five minutes into the journey to Max Brenner, I suggested going for waffles and ice cream instead because Max Brenner is pretty pricey and I felt that Javin had already spent a lot on me. He insisted though, because he wanted to bring me somewhere that we usually would not go. I also suggested skipping dessert altogether because we had a paper on Monday, but he didn't want to either. I was taken aback because most of the time, work comes before me, and I am totally fine with that because it should first and foremost be a man's priority, but this time he actually chose to sacrifice revision time to celebrate my birthday with me. When I told him that I really appreciated it, he replied that he has already prioritised work over me enough times and he wanted to prioritise me on my special day.

I felt bad because it was our anniversary, but I did not prepare anything at all, because I thought we both agreed not to and we decided to take our trip to Bangkok as our celebration instead (okay no excuses hahaha). It was our day, but I was the one who received so much love that day and every decision made was for me, instead of us. I was so touched by everything he prepared and how much my happiness meant to him.

That night, I lay in my bed thinking about how lucky I am to have met Javin.

Thank you bb for everything, I love you so very much.