A picture of me...
There’s something quiet about preparing for a birthday before it arrives, no candles yet, no noise. Just you, standing in between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming.
The 1st of May is close, and I can feel it not in excitement alone, but in awareness. This year, I don’t want to rush into celebration. I want to meet it prepared, so, I’ve started early by prepping in advance.
I find myself putting things away, not just clothes or clutter, but versions of me that no longer fit. The rethinking, the need to be everything for everyone. The silent doubts I carried like they were part of my identity.
One by one, I fold them up and set them aside, not with anger, but with understanding. They served me once but they don’t belong in this next chapter.
And in that space, I’m placing new things
I’m wishing for growth that shows, not just in what I achieve, but in how I respond. I’m wishing for peace that isn’t shaken by delay, for discipline that doesn’t wait for motivation.
For a deeper sense of self that isn’t negotiated by opinions.
These are the gifts I want even before anyone says “happy birthday.”
This time, my congratulations won’t start from people, they’ll start from me.
“Well done for not giving up.” “Well done for growing quietly.” “Well done for becoming.”
Because sometimes, the loudest celebrations are the ones we whisper to ourselves
There’s something sacred about preparing your life like you’re expecting a better version of yourself to arrive. You clean differently, you think differently, thereby choosing differently. Not because a date demands it, but because growth does
And maybe that’s the truth about us as humans, we are always in advance of something, always shedding, always becoming, always making room for something to be fit
The real transformation isn’t in the day we celebrate, but in the unseen moments where we decide we are ready for more.
So this year, I won’t just add a number to my age, i'll step into a version of myself I’ve already started becoming.
This is me, preparing my mind for the birthday in advance
HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN ADVANCE TO ME
