One.

Today is my birthday- I am twenty six years old. The picture is of me when I was almost six years old, on the day of my kindergarten graduation; the innocence in my eyes is not lost on me in the slightest. Wide eyed and ready to absorb the world; how cute.

Aren’t birthdays weird? It’s a day just like the last; but it’s incredibly symbolic- it’s crossing yet another threshold marked only by three hundred and sixty five days. On my birthday, despite the many Facebook and text message well wishes, I tend to feel alone; I always shed a few tears on this day; and today will be no different. I’ll never be five, fifteen or twenty five again and the nostalgic in me mourns those times and their passing. Reason and reality hint that things are only getting better; the baby fat is gone, my skin is clear, my hormones are *somewhat* balanced and with each year I inch closer to the woman I want to be. So, yes, the rational side of me knows things are getting better; but today, and every birthday, is a day of reflection, sadness and celebration.

Birthdays are bittersweet; and, like I said, kind of weird.

But today as I cross the threshold into yet another grouping of three hundred and sixty five days, I’ll shed a few tears, have a few drinks and eat a cupcake; because today is my birthday; and, today, I am twenty six.