Every year me and my friends try to go to my favorite ramen place and after that we get icecream and have a nice walk in the downtown, maybe have a stroll through the boardwalk. If we still have energy we go home and watch something together.
Last year there was a concert directly on my birthday so that was my celebration. It was the most fun I've ever had and very cathartic. I'd recommend checking out some local events, seeing if anything is your style and if not just stick with the classics. I hope you'll have a nice birthday :)
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I don’t tend to like celebrating my birthday with a group of friends and family (I haven’t since I was 12 and I’m 28 now) - it’s too much pressure. I always try to celebrate by curating a day (or two) filled with all the things I love and bring me joy. For example, this year, I went to my favourite bookshop and stocked up on some books, then went to the Lego shop and created a mini figure, then I went bowling, and to my fave Japanese restaurant in the evening :)
Aug 4, 2024
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my birthday often falls the week of thanksgiving, so i usually just take the day off as a "extending the long weekend" if i don't already get it off. since i moved to the west coast ~3 years ago and most of my friends and family are back in new york, every year on my birthday in the morning i make sure to:
1. respond to every single birthday text i got, and if possible hop on a quick call with as many people as i can. basically just a gratitude practice of "hey as i've gotten older i've not only developed meaningful relationships, i've also held onto a lot of meaningful relationships."
2. eat breakfast out; i think my birthday breakfast for the last two years has been Oddfellows Café + Bar (oddfellowscafe.com), but taking the time to have an extra special solo (or with my partner) breakfast keeps the scaries at bay for at least a couple hours
3. going shopping for a birthday gift for myself in person so i have something to open when i get home.
after that it's pretty much just about having a couple extra things to do during my day like trying a new restaurant / going to a favorite for lunch, running a "fun" errand like dropping off film to get scanned, and then meeting local friends for either dinner out and / or cake and games back at my apartment, etc.
having something where i can look back and feel like i did something is all i'm looking for; i think through my late teens / early twenties i put a lot of emphasis on wanting my my birthday to feel "special" which meant it was doomed to not be "special" enough. since pivoting to having fun my birthday has felt a lot more special since it's just different from the monotony of a normal day, and there wasn't any extra pressure on it
Apr 1, 2024
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Every year for my birthday I just pick something I’ve been wanting to do/go to and treat myself. Previously it’s been: going to a vibey dinner place, going to the aquarium and sitting in the leopard shark room, going to an art museum. I like the peace of doing something alone and getting to just be like wow what a fun life I live and how much more there is to see! I plan things with friends too sometimes but this little practice ensures that my birthday is satisfying to me in some way even if my friend plans dont always go as I’d want.
May 19, 2025
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moments of shared humanity make me feel so alive. be it going to concerts and moshing or dancing, having a laugh with a friend or seeing and being seen. I value every connection ive got to make, even when things ended poorly. sometimes you go your separate ways and sometimes you reconcile after, but either way you leave changed. a lot of pain can stem from intimacy but i cant help but see my own future as very beautiful and bright
3d ago
Need 2 recharge and stretch my legs. She wants some good food, I want some good company. It works out. Maybe I'll see something nice today, maybe not. Either way, I tend 2 forget that I'm a human person with needs sometimes. Desperately need 2 unclench and 2 clear my head.
5d ago
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