11:55 AM

So it's my birthday again, but this time it's different.
Today is the first birthday I didn't spend at home, asleep in my bed, waiting for my mother to come down the stairs ridiculously early in the morning to whisper "Happy Birthday" in my ear and leave my present on my bedside table. I didn't spend the majority of the night wide awake, anticipating the day to come, excited for the ginger bread house my mom always brought into one of my classes. 
To be honest, I didn't even realize it was going to be my birthday until it literally hit me sometime Wednesday morning. I thought, "Oh, I'm going to be 19 on Friday. Big effing deal." Having a birthday is cool and all, but 19 is such an arbitrary age; it's really more like...18 B. Nothing monumental happens at 19. You can do everything you could do at 18, and you're still a teenager. Nevertheless, it is still a birthday, and I intend to party just as much as if it mattered more. I'm just a bit more laid back about the 'excited for turning a year older' aspect. 
I feel like I turned about three years older a couple of months ago. It's strange, but living on my own, coming and leaving as I please, taking major control of all decisions in my academic career and succeeding has truly made me 'grow up.' So I suppose this really should be my 22nd birthday, and I should be allowed to go out to the bars tonight and make even more grown up decisions. That's how birthday's should work- with obvious discretion. 
Thus far, though, this birthday is turning out to be one of the more favorable ones for me. It's a beautifully sunny day, and I only had one class, which I thoroughly enjoy. But what really is going to make this birthday the best yet is Mr. Joel Anders and his presence in my life. I received my first birthday kiss at midnight from someone I truly love and care for. That in itself made the day begin just as I wished :).