I LOVE birthdays.

I love birthdays so much that they just might outrank Christmas when it comes to my favorite holidays. Because on your birthday? Anything is possible- even magic.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to celebrate two special birthdays: the ninth being my nana's and the tenth bringing in my younger cousin's. About a week beforehand, I had the idea to host a Tea Party for my nana's birthday. After getting my mama on board to help, I searched Pinterest for inspiration. A quite deliberative trip to Hobby Lobby later, and I was ready to make the teapot-shaped invitations.

For anyone who knows me, that was just the beginning. The party planning would go on to include extensive table decorations, themed hats, costume jewelry, and classic petit four desserts- the works. On the day of the party, nothing could have gone any better. All of our guests had an amazing time, and seeing my nana enjoy herself the way she did was exactly the reason why I wanted to throw the party to begin with.

Since I was little, I have always lived for birthday party celebrations. The first one I can remember actually helping to plan was my completely lucky thirteenth. Drumroll as I present to you, THE Harry Potter party of the century. With the help of every family member I could employ to dress up, I had what will go down in my book as the best party I've ever had. My friends and I took real Hogwarts classes, ranging from making bath salts in Potions with Professor Snape, reading auroras with Professor Trelawney, and repotting Mandrakes with Professor Sprout. We did it all! I even had my very own round golden Snitch cake, just like Harry has on his 17th birthday. Every inch of my house was decorated, every minute filled with themed activities. I had even hand made every person their own unique wand.

Needless to say, from there, my excitement for party panning exploded.

My fourteenth birthday became a creation that I refer to as the "I Dare You" party. That year, my friends and I ran around Tifton participating in different wacky schemes like picking out outfits for each other in Salvation Army, or singing "I'm a Little Tea Pot" in WalMart. We ate cupcakes with no hands, drank an Icee with brain freezes, and played in slime. It was impossible not to have a ball.

For fifteen, I had a How-to-Host-a-Murder-Mystery party. With the help of a boxed kit that I ordered offline, my friends and I each played the part of a character stuck in a Murder Mystery. Set at a beauty salon, the play called for us all to remain in character, costume, and role throughout the party. I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard in my life! The whole time we were questioning to find out who had done it, and afterwards we had a spa party of our own.

When it came time for the grand sixteen, I think my mother was praying I'd slow down a little. She was constantly laughing and reminding me, "Hey, we promised sixteen wouldn't be as big as thirteen remember? We did our do a long time ago." But alas, her pleads were to no avail. My "Capture the Flag" party was born. Separated into teams, my friends and I ran across the backyards in my subdivision (having okayed it with my neighbors beforehand) searching for the other's flag. About half-way through, it began to rain, but we were not deterred! In the end, my team won, and we celebrated with s'mores and a bonfire all the way around. I also got one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten. One of my best friends presented me with a card with print-outs of tweets from some of my favorite authors wishing me a happy birthday. I cried!

By seventeen, I had made up my mind that I wanted to go on a trip. So, a couple of weeks before my birthday, my best friend, my parents, and I went to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta to see the Broadway Musical, "Pippin." Eating dinner at one of the best restaurants, Maggiano's, I contentedly stuffed myself full of Fettuccine Alfredo and breadsticks until I just couldn't hold anything else

Finally, one year later, I made it to where I stand now- eighteen.

Out of all of my birthdays, eighteen will probably stand as the one I won't ever forget. May 21, 2016, my eighteenth birthday, also marked my high school graduation. After 8 long years, I would be crossing the stage as Tift County High School's Valedictorian, a feat I won't ever get tired of saying. That day, I was surrounded by friends, family, peers, teachers, and everyone else who had ever had a hand in making my life worth living. I was overcome with so many emotions, the most of which being gratitude at all of the blessings I have received.

I recount all of these innumerable and equally unforgettable memories to say this: birthdays truly are magical. They are the one day a year where you are allowed to celebrate yourself, your accomplishments, your relationships, and your life without question. On your birthday, the one day out of a whopping three hundred and sixty-five total days, you are allowed to be more you than you've ever been. Anything can happen. And with that, I aim to make everyone's birthdays just that special because everyone deserves to feel the way I do about them.

My nana likes to laugh and say, "Kaycee always has her birthdays planned six months in advance." And that's the truth. I'd be lying if I said that ideas for number nineteen hadn't already crossed my mind. But, I think there are plenty of worse things to be than excited to plan a party. If you can't celebrate yourself, then who can?