another birthday

today is my 22nd birthday. damn, i'm 22 years old... it's weird how birthdays evolve. when you're little your parents pull out the stops. you get the cake, cards, presents, etc. you learn to count each year using your fingers. you anxiously await the day on which everyone seems to be celebrating you. you even pick out your presents weeks before the big day. and birthday parties are the best. but, as you get older, birthdays lose their importance. you have cake with your family. maybe go out with a few friends. i can't say that i haven't had some memorable days.

i went to my first college party on my eighteenth birthday. my new friends at spelman took me out for my first cheesecake factory experience. then we went to a hotel party and met a whole bunch of dudes i was too intimidated to talk to. and, being freshmen, we had to leave EARLY before most people had arrived to make dorm curfew. i'm still mad at the girls of HH who were fast and had to sneak out for who knows what during orientation week.

on my nineteenth birthday my freshman clique and i had a reunion at cafe intermezzo. who knew that- because of sorority bullshit (actually, it had little to do with the organization and more with the obsession of being a member)- we'd barely speak to each other by the end of the year.

my twentieth birthday was THE BOMB. i was living in havana, cuba. i told everyone i wanted to spend the big day drunk and dancing salsa in a club. we went out deep through the streets of the new city like we were running things. stacey, ronni, tasha, ashley, deLaine and i were such pimps that we had a huge group of dudes with us. some of them were even cute.

last year i wore a cute white skirt i payed way too much money for (note to self: get cute skirt dry cleaned). went to wild curry with deLaine, moya and moya's friend brandy. coincidentally, brandy and i shared the same birthday. my roommates, moya and i spent the night at club shadows. we had guys buying us drinks all night. that night was only the begining; a new world really does open up when you turn twenty one.

and here i am today. i got up and got dressed. played with my sexy ibook. talked to friends. my two-year-old goddaughter called me and sang happy birthday with her mother (she only knows when to say "you"). ate dinner with my dad, aunt and uncle. now i'm watching a movie. and i'm quite satisfied. no cake, no candles... for my birthday my mother bought me a washer and dryer. it's a big change from barbie dolls, but it's probably the most useful gift to date.