Birthday Registry: Things I want

I love my birthday, and why anyone who does not appreciate their day of birth is totally bizarre to me.

As a kid, I’d have a pretty regular birthday list; the latest Barbie doll, possibly with the Kelly or Ken doll, lots of doll clothes, and Swati clothes, some cool accessories,  chocolates – and a mandatory Swati Birthday party. I’m trying to think of a year I didn’t have a birthday party – and I can’t. Every year was something. But that’s me, I love my birthday and I wait for it literally the whole year. My countdown begins a day after my birthday, if not on it.

And since birthdays are synonymous with presents, I was wondering what I wanted to gift myself this birthday. I’m already travelling to Disneyland for my birthday- which is really the best of presents you can get yourself!

But, it also got me thinking if I had a registry, what would I want? Stick with me here, I’m about to sound “super mature” (I know, not many adults will actually use the word super mature).

1. Learning to live in the moment: I know how it isn’t necessary to documenting everything online, and yet I find myself doing it – and for whom? I end up missing the fireworks while I’m taking a video for god-knows-who! I’d like to teach myself to live more in the moment. Not every sunset needs a picture – a mental one, however, might be mandatory. 
2. Enjoy more sunsets: Make more time to find me by the beach during sunset, i.e. my happy place.
3. Being okay with people who don’t like me: I don’t take rejection very easily, and I really am not a fan of people not liking me. Not blowing on my trumpet, but I’m rather easy going and I’ve always ended up making friends easily. But, I need to remind myself that there will always be people who don’t like me, and it isn’t necessarily my fault or problem.
4. To stop wishing to change things that can’t be changed. There will be a lot that I can change, and I will – but there will be something that I can’t do anything to change, and that is okay.
5. To stop saying ‘sorry’ for everything: Learning the difference between actually being ‘sorry’ for when I’m wrong and just saying ‘sorry’ because I have been conditioned to apologize.
6. Remembering that I’m not obliged to putting myself down just to make somebody else happier or more comfortable.
7. Listen to my gut: I’ve got a pretty strong gut feeling thing (mechanism? Not sure what to call it!) and I’ve got to follow it more.
8. Not let little things make me anxious: I’m very easily freaked out, and as I’m turning 25, that is something I’d really like to reward myself – to not let the little things make me so anxious and jumpy.
9. Not taking myself so seriously: Remembering that not every emotion and every feeling needs to be analyzed, sometimes (especially when there is no gut feeling involved) let the fleeting feeling be just that – fleeting.
10. Make more time for my best friends: Yes, they are there. Yes, we are all busy. But, no, that doesn’t mean you don’t make the effort to not check up on them really often especially when they live so far away.
11. The ability to say ‘no’: ‘No’ could be a complete sentence. Sometimes.