When you're a kid birthdays are the best. It's a day all about you, and you get presents and cake! What is not to love? And when you are older it's about reaching milestones and becoming an "adult" (whatever that means). Then you turn 22... and suddenly everything kind of sucks. You are thankful for the birthday wishes and gifts, but you can feel the change in the air. What is so different about 22? Well, I guess I have some ideas, and I will force you to listen to them.
1. Nothing new
You can't do anything special when you are 22, at least nothing new. At 16 you can drive, 18 you can vote, 21 you can drink, and 22...nothing.
2. Nothing to look forward to
It's also the birthday where you run out of cool new things like voting and drinking. At 25 you can rent a car for cheaper. At 65 you can retire. But really you have exhausted the pool of "cool things I can't do yet."
3. It's not an excuse anymore
You can use your birthday as a pretext to get away with things, like skipping school. I went to a Psychotherapy lecture on my birthday. While I didn't mind the class it certainly wasn't the same as the parties I had as a kid.
4.Drinking
Depending on where you are in life you may have realized how boring drinking really can be. Especially binge drinking. Especially binge drinking on a Tuesday. (Why? I have never understood this, don't you all have classes?)
5.You realize how boring you are
I get excited when I get socks as a gift now, and I asked for money to pay for a grad school application for my birthday. I miss asking for super soakers. In fact, someone buy a super soaker for my birthday, or Moon-Boots; whatever works.
6.Taylor Swift
When you bring up the fact that there is nothing cool about turning 22 everyone has to bring up the Taylor Swift Song, which is kind of cool I guess. Still, it is all you got.
7. Existentialism
You suddenly get very dark, probably while lying in bed trying to sleep, and realize your life is now a slow slide toward death. Then you eat ice cream and watch cartoons to feel better.
8. Questioning
Your brain seems to love to pick your birthday as a day to force you to reevaluate your whole life and start worrying about everything. You may even begin to make plans to open up a cute bakery because you just don't want to do college at the moment. Then you are sad because this bakery, which is adorable and serves awesome tea, will never exist. You have let the bakery down, you have let your parents down, you have let yourself down. Once again you eat ice cream and watch cartoons to feel better.
