“Birthdays give us the opportunity to stop and appreciate all the beautiful things we have been blessed with”. I should know because I recently celebrated my 11th . I thanked God for the past year full of adventures he has given me. I also thanked him for the new gifts I have discovered and my new strengths, abilities, improvements and weakness that I will improve. Most of all, I prayed that my 11th year would be a good one. Every day someone dies, another person is brought into the world; another is celebrating their 1st, 6th or 17th birthday. On your birthday, you celebrate the anniversary of your birth.

People (mostly watoto) often ask how they’re going to celebrate their birthday about a few weeks before. There are many ways! My parents and I agreed only to have parties on big birthdays. What about you? This year for example, I simply went to an awesome movie (I advise you to watch) and restaurant with my close friend and my family. Last birthday, I had a dance party with a lot of friends, then a family party once I came home. I find this year enjoyable and comfortable. You can simply just have a cake. Others may prefer just a hug, kiss, a song sung to them, or phone calls wishing a happy birthday to them. What do you do? But it is definitely depressing to just sit around and be grumpy about the gray hairs you are getting. You are never too old to set another goal or dream. This time comes around once a year; you have a right to celebrate. Dance like no one’s watching, sing as loud as possible, just be yourself because it is your day. “This is the day that the lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it”-psalm118:24.

“You have brains in your heads. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose”-Dr. Suess. I think he means that there will be a day when it will be your last birthday at home. You can make your own decisions because you are getting older by the second. There are 2 choices, good and bad. The best choices in life are the ones when you can be you, in most cases the good ones. On the first day of school we read a poem in our class that states that we are going to miss life as a kid and don’t be in a rush to grow up. Sometimes we take our age for granted. For example, my birthday is late in the year so when people asked me my age early in the summer, I stretched the truth a bit about my age because I was too eager. I cannot imagine my birthday being in December because people would be tuning older 1 month later in January. One day you might regret your eagerness. You hear people from mid-teens to elders tell watoto how lucky we are with how easy we have it. Do not rush and do not let your age get in the middle of anything. “Live your life and forget your age”-author unknown . It is hard to do but possible. Those who manage, live the best life. Just ask your parents! At the same time, praise the lord he has given you another year and face your future birthdays with a smile on your face and a smarter brain in your head each year. I hope the adults are getting wiser on their b-days so they can share their knowledge with us watoto. Keep getting stronger each year!

Maxine Mutasingwa