My birthday in previous years has always been a bit low key. Never any big parties or fancy gatherings but rather simple small dinners with my family. My birthday always feel during the late August, so for a\ most of my early school life, my birthday was forgotten by other students as the school year started and the summer began its slow transition into the fall.
There was a small part of me that always felt that celebrating my birthday was a bit narcissistic. To me, it almost seemed like forcing others to acknowledge the day of your birth and the declaration of just how important of a person you are. While this comes off as sounding like a self esteem issue, its really not, my confidence is just fine, as is my level of self importance. I just felt like it was a bit selfish to make others celebrate with me.
However this year was truly fantastic, much of it being due to my wonderful girlfriend working very hard and planning a little surprise for me, which came completely unexpected.While I was away at school during the day, she came to Gimcheon from Incheon (a three hour train ride) and decorated my house while I was gone. When I cam home I was greeted to streamers, balloons and a smiling girlfriend ready to greet me. She even went as far as to bring some small gifts that I had wanted since the beginning of the year.
It was truly a touching moment and the emotion that swept over me was held in check my my constant smiling. I've never had a surprise party in my life, so to see all the time and effort my girlfriend put into making it great meant a lot to me. A simple and kind gesture that showed a lot of caring, and something that still warms my heart thinking back on it.
The rest of the evening was spent with some friends who lived in Gimcheon as we went out to dinner and ice cream afterwards. Some of the people I had not seen since the summer began, so it was nice to have a relaxing dinner and enjoy each other's company. The one thing I cannot deny about the people I know in Gimcheon is the chemistry everyone has with each other. Even if we're just acquaintances, the conversations we usually have are warm and inviting. I suppose it comes from the "we're all neighbors in Gimcehon" mentality that we can all share. I can't really complain though, its better to be included and part some something good rather than being isolated, especially in a foreign country.At the end of the night, my girlfriend remarked at just how nice the night was. No stress or pressure from trying to please everyone. No excess of partying and drinking . Just good conversations and good times with everyone.
"Its amazing how much fun we had without getting drunk," my girlfriend said. "Usually in Korea, friends get drunk together and call it a bonding experience. They really don't get to talk like we did though, it was nice."I don't think I could have asked for a better day. I had a great time spending time with the people I care about the most and didn't wake up with a hangover the next morning.
Thank you to everyone who made it great, if all of my birthdays could be like this, I would probably feel less guilty about celebrating them.
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