My 26th Birthday Celebration

Hi guys!

Because my birthday was three days after Christmas, I celebrated my birthday as a birthday week and created my own holiday: My Birthday Eve. Typically, I celebrate by having dinner with my family or brunch with friends but 2019 was different. It was a year where I learned so much about myself through adversity and many triumphs.

Though I had several professional accomplishments I’m proud of, I am more grateful for what I accomplished internally.  I am much more self-aware of my thought processes and emotions. I admitted to myself stubbornness causes me to get in my own way. As a perfectionist, I want to fix everything  I can’t control, get overwhelmed and quickly become mentally exhausted resulting in less time spent on the things I can control.

What do I want to get rid of? What can I do to make my living space more comfortable? What do I want that will bring me peace of mind? What do I want to try? What have I been meaning to do?

To start off my birthday celebration, I wanted to take up more space by creating more space for myself.

Consequently, I spent two days cleaning my bathroom and vacuuming my apartment. Some people love to cook. I enjoy cleaning because its a stress reliever. It’s a weight lifted off of you.

Then, I took on the challenge of decluttering my closet. It was something I wanted to do for a while but hadn’t got around to. I spent two days pulling out all my clothes and shoes and determining what to keep, donate and throw away.

After trying on clothes I hadn’t worn in years and clothes never worn, I felt like a little girl playing dress-up. I loved it!

I rediscovered valuable items that were in my closet the whole time. Once the project was completed, I donated 5-6 bags of clothes and shoes to Goodwill and had more closet space.

My Actual Birthday

 

 

 

 

My sister and I went to Buteco, a Brazilian tapas bar tucked away in Grant Park for the first time and enjoyed appetizers and a live Samba band. Buteco means bodega and was inspired by traditional Brazilian street food. Though I didn’t understand most of the songs the band performed, I knew at least one song  Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes that he later remixed with Black Eyed Peas.

Doing the things we truly want to do versus what is expected is liberating.

How do you celebrate yourself?