Yes, to those of you who did hear of the rumours, yesterday happened to be my birthday and I am now 23, or as Mel eloquently puts it, the 2nd anniversary of my 21st birthday. Cute. But somehow when I put it all together, I just don't feel anything about it. To some people, birthdays should be something special. To me, it's something like any other day except that for some reason I feel compelled to avoid absolute cataclysm. It's a long story. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

Now that my birthday is over, I can humour myself with it, at least, until my next birthday and I get all grumpy again. So here are all the things I can think of that should mean something to me about my birthday. Coincidentally this list is brought to you by the number 23.

1. It was the day I was born.
2. It was the day my mother ended the labour after being 2 weeks overdue.
3. It was the day I was named Edrei.
4. It was the day I blew out my first candle.
5. It was the day I celebrated it with friends.
6. It was the day I was scolded for something I did not do.
7. It was the day I was blamed for everything.
8. It was the day I realized that birthdays don't have any meaning to it.
9. It was the day I started to hate my own birthday.
10. It was the day that my computer decided to start billowing out smoke.
11. It was the day I got a lot of money.
12. It was the day I lost a lot of money.
13. It was the day I almost got hit by a car…twice.
14. It was the day we had that big argument that I should have seen coming.
15. It was the day I got my first penguin.
16. It was a day I wished she never hated.
17. It was the day I celebrated my 21st birthday alone.
18. It was a day I had that meal that I'd never forget.
19. It was the day I found out I failed two exams.
20. It was the day I got locked out of the house.
21. It was the day I actually a new camera.
22. It was the day she made me start believing that some things don't have to happen if you don't want them to.
23. It was the day that I woke up knowing I would never have to spend another day feeling so alone for as long as I kept the promises.

Some things do have meaning when you give them meaning. Some things don't need to be said. Some things however do need to be reminded from time to time, just because you may not like them, doesn't mean they haven't defined your life. 23 may be another number, but I dan't deny the fact that it's also just how many years I've been alive, which can be more to be said for some people. Let's see what else life has in store for me this year. After all, the clock is ticking, even if it is one second at a time.