This morning, I turned on my Mac to emails and messages from well wishers on my birthday. I believe that for both men and women alike, as we get older, birthdays get harder. Whether because the novelty wears off after the first decade or so, or because like New Year’s Eve, it’s a time for reassessing and taking stock of one’s life.

My birthday happens to be in early September. I hated this growing up. More often than not, it fell on the first few days of school. And while back to school meant seeing friends, for our family it usually meant another nerve-wrecking first day in yet another a new school for a very timid child.

Anyone who knows me and is snorting at the idea of me as a shy kid, those days of timidity are long over and this September afternoon finds me extremely grateful to be turning a year older. I think the key to having a great birthday is a year well-lived. And my quarter-century year, if I might say so.. was pretty freaking spectacular. So this entry is dedicated to those incredible people who made this year so memorable. I don’t know what I would do without you guys

This was the year of:

Adventures, new horizons, conquering fears and self-discovery. Joining a truck full of Amdo Tibetans on pilgrimage. Getting left behind on Mt. Everest. Altitude sickness. Roach-boating down the Yangtze and watching dawn break over Nam-Tso Lake.

This was the year of rediscovering childhood with new-found friends. Silly sleepovers and pow-wows with the girls. A running dive off a three-story ice slide in a winter wonderland. Dancing into the turn of a new decade and watching the sunrise at Tienanmen with your best friend.

This was the year of much, much learning and discovery. The realization that how long you’ve known someone doesn’t directly correlate with how great their impact on your life.

And lastly, this was the year of creativity, collaboration and artistic expression. Finding like-minded spirits who in a heartbeat, will climb into the ruins of a fast-disappearing world and the next moment be engrossed in long, ambling conversations into the wee hours of the night. For relationships who believed in me when I doubted and urged me to push beyond my comfort zones.

In three days, I start graduate school. Something I’ve wanted my entire life. With an incredible year behind me.. I have high expectations. No doubt much will be asked of me in turn. I realized this morning that I have spent the past six birthdays in a different city each year, and I have no idea where I’ll be this time next year. But here’s to everyone who inspired me, made me laugh, and lifted me up. You guys give me the confidence to go barreling towards the great unknown

Here’s to looking forward to another amazing year.

xoxo,

Eva