Categories: Ramblings

The time has come at last. My twentieth birthday, the day I officially leave the teen years behind. Imagine, just a while ago I was romping around in primary school. Soon I’ll have some brats hugging at my pants leg and a wife yelling about how I’m not the man she married. Yes time really does fly when you’re having…fun? Ok, time really flies. This morning before I entered school, I was handed a Watchtower magazine by a Jehovah Witnesses lady. It was about how long you can live. I got to reading up to the first page. So what? It’s better than a lot of you! Most of you throw them in the garbage when they aren’t looking, or tuck them away somewhere, never to be seen again until spring cleaning.

Anyway, I saw that the average lifespan of a human is 70 years - 80 if you’re lucky. I then realized that I’ve already used over a quarter of my life. What have I achieved so far? More than the average person that’s for sure. But not as much as I would have wanted. I hoped that at this age I would be richer, more accomplished and renowned, and have more experiences with the opposite sex, among other things. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. My birthday is one of the few times of the year that I’m glad my parents baby me a little, because my male peers don’t get parties or presents anymore, because they’re “men” and such things are for children. The most that their parents will do is drop a few dollars on them and tell them to go crazy.

I wonder what will happen tonight. Probably more of the same. My mother will get me a present, more than likely clothes. My father will hand me the most impersonal gift of all – money, and my little sister will give me a little drawing filled with scribbles and crayon coloured hearts expressing how much she loves me. Although this year might be a little different, as my mother hinted that I might be taken out for some fancy eating tonight. 21 is probably the last birthday I’ll truly celebrate, as then all the carefreeness of youth will be brutally torn from my body and I will be violently cast into the bleak world of adulthood. Every other birthday will just be another step in a slow march to death.

Psychologically I’m already there, so I won’t have the rude awakening some of my peers will have.

Maldita, Bratinella for her infusion of the Tagalog language- very original, and Maritza for her clever use of rhyme. But in the end, there can be only one. And the winner is (drumroll please!) … Maritza! Here’s her entry.

“Happy Birthday to Leon
His blogs should be in Neon
He writes so well
He’s really swell
Happy birthday happy birthday Leon!”

Nice huh? A little corny, but then again which birthday jingle isn’t. Maritza, remember to email me with all the necessary details.