In my early teenage years, I would often imagine what life would be like in my late twenties.
I would hope that, in my late twenties, I would be living on my own in a big city, happy with my career and surrounded by people I loved. I would hope that, by my late twenties, I had changed at least one person’s life and accomplished at least one thing that inspired someone else.
Most of all, I would hope that, despite entering my late twenties, I would still have hopes and dreams and ambitions, and I would still believe in the goodness of humanity and still be trying, every day, to make people smile.
Today, as I celebrate my twenty-seventh birthday and enter what is officially my late twenties, I’d like to assure my teenage self that I have never stopped dreaming and that I’m still driven by smiles.
No matter what may have changed from my original vision over a decade ago, I’ve still got that.
(Thanks to Amber for taking that smile-worthy photo.)
Hey Vasta -
There is a corny song titled, “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number” Which is true. sometimes it baffles me that I “look” older than i feel or “act”.
Thanks for the smiles and your thought provoking notes.
Advice - don’t look in the mirror - u may start acting your age.
Happiest of Birthdays SV! I hope you get a chance to celebrate in style (I’ll be right behind ya on that 2-7 in April).
I love that KK had to make an Aliyah reference. Too bad I got it :(
Have a wonderful day :)
Aw. This is a really, really lovely post. I hope too that I never lose that conviction that there is so much goodness in people. It’s the best and most important thing in the whole world.
Happy day!
Happy Birthday! Live it up!
Happy Birthday, Sameer!
I’ll be joining you in the land of twenty-seven-year-olds in mid-April. I’m glad that I’ll also be able to say that I’m still a dreamer. :)
Hope you had a great day.
Happy Belated Birthday, Sameer :)
KK, I love the Aliyah drop. That woman was talented. And you’re right, we’re only as old as we feel.
Mehnaz and Michelle, make sure you both remind me in April so we can celebrate (virtually) in style!
Jacquelyn, the best way to never lose the feeling of goodness in people is to surround yourself with amazing people. Why do you think I keep you all around? =)
Thanks so much Christina and Indriana! So when can I expect to celebrating your birthdays?
My birthday is in August :)
Anyway, Sameer, I wanted to comment on your Squandrous page, but I couldn’t find the link. Yuna is a singer from Malaysia. I just found out about her from my friend, so I suppose she’s pretty new? You can find her and a few of her other songs on Myspace (I personally like ‘Rockets’).
August is a good month. =)
I’ve disabled comments on Squandrous for several reasons, most of which I’ll not go into right now. Thanks for the info about Yuna though. Been doing some Googling, good stuff so far! Thanks for the tip.
I can’t believe I missed your birthday! See what happens when you commit facebook suicide (although come to think of it I haven’t searched you for a while…. nope, still not there….)… hope you had a glorious day… such a spring chicken, I love it! Hanging to chat, will keep checking skype - have no idea about the time difference, but hey, I have google, and google knows a lot, so there we have it :) i will sing stevie wonder’s happy birthday to you right now - you’re lucky you can’t hear it… big love, happy belated birthday, keep smiling (and laughing, ah, how I love that laugh…..) x
Thanks Rachel! I’m traveling all weekend, but we’ll be sure to connect sometime soon. I miss you tons!
As I was reading your post I could see that you were accurately describing yourself… and these are the things that we all love about you Sameer - don’t lose that. :)
Amir, I’m extremely flattered you say that. I’ve always tried to live up to my ideal, and while I think I have a long way to go, it’s always nice to get some reassurance from friends from time to time.
One word: PURPLE!
Happy belated birthday Sammy.
I hope you’ve been keeping well. I’m doing good myself. No need to worry, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. How’s DC? How long are you there for?
HOLY CRAP HE’S ALIVE!
I’ve been trying to reach you for, well, forever. How are you? Happy belated birthday to you too! (And heck yes, purple is definitely still the word du jour.)
I’m here for a year. Come visit.
I’m back in Toronto often — let’s hang out.
I’ll email you shortly. Sooooooooooo good to hear from you.