I’m not personally one for birthdays, and I don’t definitely care much for mine. I usually just go along with the festivities for everyone else’s; I guess I am just not a celebration person.

I had a Sweet 16—it wasn’t like the T.V show, nothing crazy, but it was perfect for me. My mom threw me a surprise party a few times when I was younger; I had the typical McDonald’s parties as a kid, but I have no memory of what I did for my eighteenth birthday—probably nothing. I’m usually happier that way, and I spent my twentieth birthday last year in Florence, Italy at a chocolate festival, which was fun, but I don’t even like chocolate.

This year is the big one though. Most people count down the days, exactly 7,665 days from birth, 21. Finally legal to drink alcohol (in America). I spent a semester in Italy, and I think I had about five drinks the entire semester. I’m not one for alcohol either. So my birthday isn’t exactly revolving around getting wasted.

Plus, I’m not the oldest of my friends, but I’m not the youngest, so the people celebrating with me aren’t all of legal age. I do know that I don’t plan to spend my twenty-first birthday supplying alcohol to minors.

So instead? We are going to the movies. Alcohol is overrated anyway.

Why does alcohol have to be so important? Everyone hears I am turning 21 and instantly assumes I am going out for drinks. Is that what everyone else does? Is that appropriate? We are told our entire lives NOT to drink ourselves into a stupor yet once you turn 21 it’s suddenly what everyone assumes is going to happen. Am I the only one who has no interest in that?

That just doesn’t sound appealing to me at all. Who wants to wake up in the morning and have no idea what they did the night before? I’d rather just enjoy a nice night with my friends. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I will buy my first legal drink for all the hype (woo hoo), but it will be at Friday’s, for dinner, with my friends, and it will be one drink. Not quite like everyone seems to expect it to be like. I guess I’m just not a typical 21-year-old. But hey, I have the rest of my life to drink.