Birthdays are supposed to be a time of celebration. You’re a year older; you’ve made it around the sun yet again. Even though there’s so much joy and excitement, there’s still some lingering feeling in your chest. All of the baby photos being sent to you make you feel nostalgic, then you start spiraling about how you’ll never be that young again, and you begin to worry about your future. It’s the curse of birthdays — the birthday blues.
Getting older is scary
Milestone birthdays are the scariest. For a college student, the idea of turning 20 can be terrifying. You’ll never be a teenager again; all of those years are behind you. This is when you start to feel more like an adult. In your head, you’re still 15, so it seems so daunting when you look at your birthday cake and you see the numbers two and zero staring back at you.
Another milestone for college students is their first birthday away from their family. Some are lucky and have their birthday over the summer, but most will experience a birthday without their parents during their freshman year. This is one of the biggest changes that your freshman year is already filled with, which can make the birthday blues a little more intense than usual.
Self-reflection
Birthdays are all about reflecting on yourself — what you have achieved, what you still need to achieve and how you’re going to get there. This is where fear can sneak in. All of these ideas of the future and what you need to do in order to succeed become overwhelming. You’ll feel like you need to get started right away, and you’ll begin to spiral. You may even begin to think about all of the old versions of yourself that you’ve outgrown. You’ll think about your birthdays when you were a kid, everyone who was there, and how much things have changed since then.
Remember to celebrate
Although these dark feelings are bound to seep through, it’s still a time for celebration. Gather your closest friends and family, confide in them, and allow them to scare away the birthday blues. You’re another year older, and you’ve worked so hard to get here. Instead of doing too much self-reflection and scaring yourself, do some self-care and get excited for the next year and all of the new, amazing opportunities ahead!
What’s your experience with the birthday blues? Let us know on our Instagram @VALLEYmag!
