For the past several years, I've been fortunate enough to spend my birthday exploring new places and going on new adventures. When I turned 16, I spent the day in Monet's garden in France. When I turned 17, I toured the city of Stockholm in Sweden. When I turned 18, I walked the trails of the Swiss Alps. Nevertheless, on my 19th birthday, I stayed in the country. In fact, my only adventure was a 5-minute drive away from my house to an office building.

To me, waking up on your birthday is a comparable experience to waking up on Christmas. My first thoughts are always, "the day is here." I check my phone multiple times to make sure that the day is actually here. When I woke up on my birthday last week, it was almost a surreal experience in that one of the days I wait for all year had finally come.

I got out of bed, watched some YouTube videos, and then, got ready for work. And to be honest, I felt completely disappointed. This was my day... the day I was born! But, I wasn't doing anything special. There would be no Swiss Mountains or French gardens this year. I ate the same breakfast before work, took the same route to work, and started the same daily tasks.

While I was wallowing in self-pity, however, I did realize that my birthday was special and that I had a new experience. The weekend prior, I had a barbecue with all my close friends, which I never did before, since I was almost always traveling during my birthday. Although I felt like I was misusing my birthday, a day that only came once a year, I realized that every other day also only comes once a year.

My point is that while the actual day of my birth does hold some value, the more important thing is that I did have the chance to celebrate it. My co-workers took me to lunch, and my family went out for dinner. It's the little things that count, and being appreciative is most essential. I realized that every day is a day that only comes once a year, and therefore, every day should be special in some way. It isn't the one day that counts, but what you do with all your other days.