A birthday card to me

Already I’m missing being 21 years old. I remember going into this year feeling like I was opening a doorway to a room full of fun and new experiences. Many firsts happened in that year. Let’s see. Where to begin!

1. I got my first pet – my lovely two goldfish, Gibralter and Dorian Gray. Sadly though, they both passed away within seven months; but still, I cannot deny the comfort I found in having their lit aquarium light my room, casting cute fishy shadows on my floor, calming me down for sleep.

2. I drank for the first time and got drunk. Yeah! Such an experience, simply put.

3. On a more unfortunate note, I also had my first hang over and learned that I’m more of a mixed drinker than a beer person.

4. I got my first drum set. Yeah! The hours I spent on them, bangin’ them in the afternoon when no one was home during my winter break. And I’d come back upstairs from the basement, all sweaty with endorphins running high.

5. I learned to drive. Seeing as my mom had knee problems and wasn’t allowed to drive for a few weeks, I had to learn quickly so I can drive her to all her errands; in fact that was how I learned. It was funny though, how I first started to learn. My mom and I had planned to practice driving in the parking lot of Sunken Meadow. We forgot to switch seats though when we were driving home and I ended up driving on the highway the very first day I started to drive. Needless to say, I learned to drive on the busy roads before the residential areas, ha!

6. I got my first real job, tutoring someone. Finally making money!

7. I started writing a blog.

8. I got not one but two djembe drums! Now I can pretend to be like Toca, Jason Mraz’s singing partner!

9. I got all four of my wisdom teeth pulled out. P-A-I-N-F-U-L. During that period of my life, you’d have found me a pitiful girl with bulging cheeks, despite their not being food in my mouth.

10. I went to my first concert – Jason Mraz at Jones Beach. Yup, that day Steph and I followed him from his guest appearance on the Today show to the Jones Beach amphitheater.

And finally,

11. I learned more about myself as I did a little self-exploring.

Being 21 was awesome and I expect being 22 to be just as awesome, as well as the many years ahead of me. Life, as I’ve figured by now, is nothing but a fun experience (at least overall) that never ceases to involve my learning something with each new episode to be added on this reel. Certainly, I’ve had my ups and downs as much as any person sitting next to me. But, in trying to be an optimist, I find that talking to people – new and former – provides as much comfort as writing or as lying on the couch watching a funny show or lying in bed waiting for sleep to arrive or listening to a song that I used to listen to over and over again and for some reason stopped. Yes, or playing tennis or drumming too.

My name is Bern and I am a lover of life with all my family and friends, happiness and sensualities.

This is my birthday card to me! Happy birthday, you reflective and nostalgic 22 year old!

With eternal glowing love and peace,
Bern