♫ "Feliz seamos todos"

     On a Monday morning seventeen years ago, much like this one, my parents were in a hospital for a Cesarean section. Most people can't say that their births were scheduled, but for once in my life, I was right on time. Most people also don't spend their seventeenth birthday thousands of miles from home, but the internet means I can still talk to you all. Today is an important day for me, measuring years as well as days. I entered the world seventeen years ago today, the third child to the most loving, supportive, and ultimately selfless parents anyone could ever imagine. One month ago today, I gave them impatient hugs and left.
     My dad and I have a running tally of how people react to my exchange. From my peers, the results are mostly: "That's amazing! You're so lucky!" which I sometimes think discounts how hard I worked for this opportunity, or "Why would you want to?" which I can't answer. Before, because it seemed obvious to me and the best answer I could come up with was "Why wouldn't you?" Now, I am starting to wonder why I did want to do this. Please don't misunderstand that - I am happy here and excited for the year, but I also am gaining respect and appreciation for those who choose to remain in one place for their lives. Of the adults, a few respond with enthusiasm about my exchange, but most look my parents up and down, subtly estimating their straight-jacket measurements, before bluntly asking, "Are you insane?" Frankly, I would like to ask them the same question, but madness is clearly hereditary.
     The Spanish birthday song that I received for the first time yesterday, and presumably many more times today, is a little different than I learned in high school.

"Cumpleaños feliz,

cumpleaños feliz,

feliz seamos todos,

cumpleaños feliz."

     The third line translates to "that we all be happy," which is the message of this post. Sometimes I'm sad about the past or worried about the future, but birthday should be about the present and, most importantly, about others. Today, I celebrate seventeen blessed years with the most wonderful people literally in the world. I hope that my family, friends, pets, and everyone back in the US are happy today. I hope my Spanish family, friends, pets, and everyone are felices today. I hope that my exchange family, spread out across four continents, are all feliz, joyeux, glücklich, sretan, lykkelig, senang, ยินดี, mutlu, खुश, or however you may say it in their language. (Don't let me down, Google Translate! Sorry for the mistakes, guys... I tried).I have two homes now, and I want you all to know that I am thinking of you. Thank you to Hilary, whose gift got lost in the mail, to Nana, whose letters I am anxiously waiting to open, to my Rotary family, spread out across the globe but always there for me, to my families, friends, teachers, coaches, classmates, and to you, who are reading this.
Feliz seamos todos... cumpleaños feliz. I love you all.

Un abrazo muy fuerte,

Meg