Day 33: My 17th Birthday!!! (YEAH!)

Day 33: My 17th Birthday!!! (YEAH!)

17 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! The celebration started at 7:40 P.M. My parents, my two sisters, and my three cousins (Buo-re, Yen-Lu, and Yen-Ling) were crowding around the table around me.

I took about 10 pictures of the cake cause it looked amazing. I'm glad my parents got me that cake, cause those are my favorite blend of colors. Anyways, then the lights were dimmed and they all sang me Happy Birthday! Around halfway, I knew I was about to blow out the candles, so I began to think of my wish.

What to wish for.....what did I truly want? Another video game? Another pet? The next instant, I knew what I wanted. What I had wanted quite possibly my whole teenage life. I closed my eyes very tight, and then I whispered it in my head. "I want to meet someone who will love me. A guy who I can love back, and who I can make very happy. I hope I'll find him soon, or at least I hope I find a genuine friend." Then I blew out the candles with a breath of desperation. Then came the darkness, followed by my sigh of relief, and of hope, and then came the clapping and the shouting..... - I really hope my wish comes true, cause it's the first wish I've ever made on my birthday. Either I was too young to even remember my wish, or I wasn't given a cake and ended up seeing a Broadway show instead, or even sometimes I forgot to wish for something. But today, I meant that wish with my heart. And I know wishing isn't everything, but it sure beats no even trying!!!

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PRESENTS

My parents gave me $200. Why yes, I'm a spoiled brat. I even took a picture of it with the camera I got for Christmas.

I think the best gift I got, though, was the four books I got from my sister. It was also a huge surprise, because my present was a rectangular box, and that could be anything.

The second I opened my present, my head felt lightheaded cause I was honestly so happy. There lieing before me was Henry David Thoreau's "Walden and Civil Disobedience". Oh my god. My sister knew how much I loved Thoreau. I was so ecstatic to see the book in front of me. What was even more uplifting was that lieing beneath it was Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Selected Essays." (Emerson, btw, is credited as being the founder of the Transcendentalist movement in his literary piece Nature.) There was also "The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain and Candide by Voltaire. Although I didn't really know them too well, I certainly was excited to read such intellectual books.

I really want to remember this birthday specifically because I know a lot of people gave their time to show me that they love me. And it wasn't by doing something extravagent, like taking me to some faraway vacation spot or buying me some extremely expensive gift (although $200 cold cash is pretty sweet!) Everyone was really nice to me, and put a lot of effort into making this day special.

I hope to remember today, so that next time I get angry or bitter at them for hurting me, I'll recall that beautiful cerulean cake they bought me on July 2nd to show how much they loved me.