Greetings, fellow bloggers.
I'm very new to the world of blogging, so excuse me for this first post!
Since I very recently (5 days ago) celebrated my 17th birthday, I thought I would reflect upon birthdays, and what they really mean to us. Usually, I get ridiculously excited about my impending birthday, much to the irritation of my friends, but this year I found the entire experience different. Perhaps it was simply due to my being in sixth form now, since I have so much more work (and stress) to deal with, but I wasn't looking forward to it as much as I should. Of course I don't feel any different to how I did when I was 16 (we never do ...) but you know, we always hope for a slightly significant change. But I've realised that now, my last adolescent birthday has come and gone, and next year I am looking to the big 1-8. Wow. Not really sure if i'm ready for that one. I have set myself a very definitive list of goals to achieve before, since in the few weeks to my 17th, I found myself philosophically reflecting upon my year as a 16 year old, and my achievements (or rather, the lack of). I accept that I was rather absorbed with my GCSE's for much of that year, but I still find my conquests somewhat lacking. So this year, here are the goals I hope to achieve:
1. At least 3 A's in my AS Levels
2. To draft the novel I have been planning (it is my dream to become an author)
3. Write more poetry (I have a special book for this, how cool am I? ;)
4. Get a new job (I hate my current one)
5. To pass my Grade 4 Flute Exam
6. To see Phantom of the Opera at least twice more (a frivolous aim, yes, but we have to indulge in pleasures sometimes!)
7. To somehow raise money for a charitable organisation (must remember that many are less fortunate than I)
It's going to be a busy year. Unfortunately, I am the queen of procrastination. The book I mentioned planning has been in that stage of development for a while now, a couple of years i'd say. This list is rather optimistic, but I am confident that I can at least attempt most of them. And now, as I seem to have gone off on a bit of a tangent, back to birthdays...
We (in more economically developed countries) expect so much when that special day comes round. It's hard to realise that, when you are in the midst of tearing wrapping paper off each item you carefully requested on your 'list', people in some parts of the world don't even know when their birthday rolls around. Some probably wouldn't even care, worrying more about getting food to eat, clean water to drink and keeping their families safe. So many don't have a family to celebrate with. For a vast number of people around the world, birthdays are not the happy, carefree occasions we have come to see them as. I was very consciously aware this year, especially with our current state of recession and at christmas time, of the money that my family and friends were spending on me. How nice would it be, if I selflessly asked them all to donate in my name to charities? I didn't. I did tell my mum that I didn't want her to spend much on me, but I could have done a lot more. As humans, it's in our nature to want things, especially when we feel like we deserve them. However, I didn't particularly feel like I had done much to deserve presents. Not that I've been 'bad', or anything, I'm a very nice girl (I think, haha) but I think that next year, I will do the charity thing. I think there is much to be gained as a worldwide community if, at these time of celebration, we give a little more thought to others, and not just ourselves.
Well, that's it for my first blog, lets see about the next one, eh? :)
