I don’t care to celebrate the day of my own birthday. Six months ago, my initial plans were carelessly cancelled so I went to dinner with a few coworkers, who were unaware of the occasion until I conceded at the very last minute. Five and a half years ago, I experienced a panic attack while my college boyfriend at the time settled into a video game for the night. Admittedly these were extreme cases–I am so fortunate to have several that lived up to my expectations and regardless, I was content with just that: living another day. These first world problems led me to doubt the satisfaction and lessons with growing old. Quite easily I was letting the years go by complacently. It was only over these past six months that I made up those years of staying immature and cynical that I celebrated my life for what it was, and what I wanted it to look like by the time I join the 27 Club (back then, it wasn’t really a joke to me).

This morning I checked my email which was full of freebies from the California eBirthdayclubs wishing me a “Happy ‘Half Birthday’!” and it dawned on me that I was checking my email in the morning for a quick hit of dopamine (although much better than social media). Before locking and chucking my phone in a drawer, I checked with my friend that we were still going to the opening day of The Baltimore Farmer’s Market.

From there, I knew I was going to have a day of intention and celebration.

I read (1) a few paragraphs of the The Wim Hof Method before rolling out my yoga mat and set a timer to stretch and meditate for at least 20 minutes (2). After my practice, my joints snapped and cracked almost knowingly as I took off my clothes and started a load of laundry (3) while my coffee steeped (4). When the wash cycle finished, I grabbed my phone to do a lesson on Duolingo while I got dressed, kissed my fur babies, and finally headed out the door.

Although it seems as if I had an auspicious morning, I was still late to meet my friend by about 15 minutes (5) and I did not have breakfast (6).

I found him at the performance stage playing local house music DJs and he greeted me by asking if I wanted a tequila shot. “Oh, um, at 10:30 in the morning?” I asked obtusely. He told me how this woman had coerced him to purchase a shot, and in the spirit of people-pleasing (7) and feeling at ease in social situations, I almost accepted his offer (he did not know I would be “celebrating” today either). I declined and told him my boring story of my blood results from a month ago and kept my streak strong (8). We agreed, however, that we would be having beers in the warmer months as they are still my favorite drink (9).

As we made the rounds, I first stopped by the apple vendor to ask about the delicious “Ludacrisp”. Unfortunately, they would not be in season until six months from now, in October. However, the vendor recognized both of us from the climbing gym and told us that the Evercrisp is from the same family and gave us an apple to try. We gave him our smile and told us to come climb with us sometime (10). We went to the knife vendor and asked to use one of their knives to cut the apple in half (11) brimming with succulent juice retained by the freshest apple I’ve had in a long time.

The morning went by quickly as we continued walking around the farmer’s market, talking and browsing. He bought us each a bag of tea, and I bought us a croissant to split (12) and an apple danish and cinnamon roll for later (13). My friend, doing a post-doctorate at Hopkins, bemoaned that he had to prepare for a conference and went home. He encouraged me to pursue a Master’s (14) since it was a lot less work. Despite that sunny day, I was still freezing (15) in my new Rezz hoodie and returned home as well. With the laundry done and the week’s chores completed, I finished the rest of my pastries and headed to the gym.

While my mind was apt for a challenge, my body was not aligned with enthusiasm. I had slept poorly the night before (16) and I was nursing a shin splint. I headed straight for the squat rack and loaded it for back squats, arguably the most reliable exercise. In the 4 years I have been lifting seriously, I felt that my progress had plateaued in the last half. Given I was training for different reasons from then to now and the unforeseen impact of a global pandemic, I gave myself credit for coming this far (17). After some time trying to convince my body to wake up in the weight area, I laced up my running shoes (18) and queued my current favorite songs (19) and ran a 5K (20) at a decent pace, despite my body’s complaints. I ran into some friends and climbed a few routes, but quickly ran out of energy and headed home (21) to give myself time to meet up with them again for dinner. From the day’s activities and remembering the Wim Hof method, I took a frigid shower (22).

We planned to meet at this pizza place they had been hyping up for days at 7:30, but upon arriving, found out they close at 8 on Sundays (23). Admittedly, I was quite disappointed and considered flaking yet another time. The group headed to another pizza place a few blocks over (24) and when I arrived, many of my friends remarked that it felt like a long time since they saw me around. “I’ve been working on some personal projects,” I beam. There were 12 of us, so dinner was a bit over 2 hours of joking around, sharing food, and catching up with stories. While I was tempted to order dessert (25), I knew I made a commitment to write for Solaria Chip and went home to begin my article after a long day of reflection (26). In the next six months, I will

(1) Read every day.
(2) Meditate or have a few moments of silence.
(3) Do a load of laundry every week.
(4) Have a morning ritual.
(5) Honor other people’s time and in general stop being late.
(6) Provide my body with energy at the start of each day.
(7) Stop people-pleasing.
(8) Maintain a streak of good habits.
(9) Enjoy favorites in moderation.
(10) Develop meaningful relationships.
(11) Be resourceful.
(12) Be generous and do not expect anything in return.
(13) Prepare for strenuous activities, mentally and physically.
(14) Never stop learning and pursue education while you can reasonably do so.
(15) Become acclimated, if not prepared, for the worst conditions.
(16) Sleep enough.
(17) Acknowledge your accomplishments and be forgiving in limited circumstances.
(18) Invest in excellent running shoes.
(19) Have a fresh soundtrack for everything to keep you motivated.
(20) Do hard things.
(21) But know your limits.
(22) Take more cold showers.
(23) Stay informed on schedules.
(24) Have a backup plan.
(25) Always have room for dessert.
(26) Remember the good things. Take pictures. Document well and share my lessons with the world.

I hope that when I get to taste the fruit of the Ludacrisp apple and my intentional cultivation in six months, I will savor all that I have grown to be.

See how sharp I am