This year on my 20th birthday, I asked for two things: a pink flowered cake and a princess birthday balloon. At this point in my life, I feel blessed beyond belief with all that I have, so I didn’t find it necessary to ask for anything else. Surely, I woke up to a bunch of princess balloons tied around my mailbox and a beautiful pink flowered cake (along with a few other presents from my amazing parents). I received many birthday wishes from my loving friends and family, went to a fabulous new Italian restaurant for dinner, and was even surprised by a visit from my best friend from school. All of these things made my birthday so special, and one to remember. However, one thing topped all of these. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
For me, my birthday is always a day where I feel love all around me. I receive many birthday wishes, text messages, phone calls, cards, and everything in between. I am showered with love and attention from my immediate family and my best friends who spend as much of the day as possible with me. This year, I got to feel love on a completely different spectrum. People across the country were celebrating love and their right to marry those they love on that day. It seemed that the entire day was centered around love nationwide, and that was an amazing thing to witness.
I feel fortunate that each year on my birthday, there is more to celebrate than just another year that I have lived. Now on my birthday, I am able to celebrate the anniversary of equal love becoming legal. Although the LGBT community will still face obstacles and challenges in the near future despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, history was undeniably made on June 26 and it was the greatest birthday gift that I could have asked for.
