The Devious Smiles of Birthdays
When we were little, a birthday is all we could
hope for. A day when all the attention is on you and you are showered
with tons
of presents and love. As children, we didn’t worry about the new
responsibilities that were ahead of us, or even that as each year slips
away,
we get one step closer to death. Celebrating birthdays are a way for us
to hide the real truth behind the gatherings. When I was little, I
remember how much I
wanted to be older so I would be allowed to party everyday and do
whatever I
wanted. At fourteen, I realized by every passing year, that I was wrong
about
my theory, that I was completely wrong. By every year that adds to our
age, we
are surrounded by limitless amount of responsibilities, tasks, and
problems.
Things are even tougher when you’re a teenager. You have to be
concerned about what
career path you are going to take, whether or not your
girlfriend/boyfriend is
cheating on you, peer pressure, and more endless issues. We are
demanded
continuous things and are left with no time to party or rebel.
As we get older, we are also troubled about our
appearances. We fear whether or not our wrinkles are visible, if we followed
the rules of the media in order to be “perfect”, or if we will need to get
dentures soon. I could imagine how difficult birthdays are for adults. For a
woman who is hitting the big fifty, I could picture the shocked and scared look
on her face that soon the time will come.
We are fooled by its gifts and celebrations,
which is why we don’t see past the tricky smile of the birthday. However, it sees the horrible truth: we are
getting older and our life is vanishing before our eyes.