Happy Birthday To Me! As of April 6th I am officially 21, Yippie!
Celebrating abroad, my 21st birthday in Scotland was honestly everything I could have hoped for and more! Even though in the UK, age 18 is technically the year a teen becomes an 'adult' (aka. they can drink), contrary to the states, America says one becomes officially an adult when they turn 21. But aside from drinking, what else do I now legally have the right to do... well I can finally can get a horizontal driver's license (haha, right now mine is vertical), I could get my pilot's license for a helicopter (in England if I so desire), I can gamble (Mohegan Sun here I come), in some states I could be elected as a State Representative (but I think I'll leave that job for the political science majors), I could adopt a kid (but I'm way, way too young, so I think i'll stick with adopting a dog haha), and well other then all those other little perks, just the mere fact that I can now officially say I've started climbing my way through my twenties means I have finally left 'young adulthood' and finally entered the stage of 'adulthood', oh boy before you know it i'll be thirty!
As I said, the events that took place on my 21st birthday couldn't have made me any happier and seeing as how it was my first birthday abroad (aka not being home with my usual family and friends), the amount of love and happiness I felt from my new friends (all of whom I met since arriving in Edinburgh) was amazing, starting with the moment I woke up!
For those of you who could not be here to celebrate my big day with me, allow me to tell you all about my day's event's...
- First, funny little backstory...on April 5th I stayed up all night, writing in my journal, calling my parents, talking with my flatmates and watching netflix (the Great British Bake Off of course), waiting for the clock to strike 'midnight' into April 6th, aka My Birthday! Topping off my evening before I went to bed, my phone wished me a Happy Birthday which I took a screenshot of and you can see off to the left!
- Fast forward to 8am, I woke up (with no alarm clock, I am just a morning person), got up, made myself a yummy bowl of fruity oatmeal, did my make-up and of course straightened my hair, put on a comfy yet sleek and stylish outfit perfect for both getting my nails done and High Tea, and was ready to leave my flat by 9:30am to take my morning walk up to the nail bar on Prince's Street!
- Before leaving the flat, when I woke up at 8am and opened my bedroom door, I noticed there was a something on my door... My sweet flatmate, during the middle of the night, had decorated my door with an array of sticky notes that spelled out 'Happy 21st Birthday Meghan' combined with a little note wishing me a great day! Of course I wasn't expecting to see this when I woke up, so when I saw it I immediately (out loud) said AWEEE!! When I saw her later in the day and told her thank you for the note, she replied by saying she wanted me to have the happiest day ever from the moment I woke up! And well mission accomplished because I did!
- Arriving right on time at 10am, I had a appointment scheduled to get a manicure and pedicure, which lasted until 12pm! A little birthday gift to myself, I have to say like any girl I do enjoy a good pampering session, and I have to say, my nails and toes definitely turned out great! I even got my polish color to match my birthday dress, a light blue, Cinderella color!
- Following my little nail session, at 12pm, I headed over to Starbucks right down the road, to get my free birthday cup of coffee (but sadly the UK doesn't take American perks so I had to pay, but it was worth it). And since I wasn't scheduled to meet my friends for our High Tea reservation at The Dome until 1pm, with my cup of coffee, I sat in Starbucks right in front of a window that had a miraculous view of the Edinburgh Castle, pulled my e-book out of my bag, read for a little bit, enjoyed my coffee and then packed up to head for tea around 12:45 pm!
- At 1pm I met up with 7 friends at the Georgian Tea Room at The Dome on George Street, for an afternoon filled with High Tea, Pastries, yummy sandwiches and great company! And of course I treated myself to a glass of Cava because after all it was my 21st birthday! Without a doubt, High Tea with my group friends was not only one of the high points of my day, but also a high of my entire time in Scotland, for I really loved just chatting and afternoon dining with my group of girls, I am now going to make it my own personal mission to bring the tradition of High Tea to the United States and celebrate the tradition at least once a week (I would do it everyday but I have to work during the day haha, but I will make it a habit to host a little High Tea every weekend), whether it's just for me or a group of people, High Tea is definitely coming home with me!
- After my two hour High Tea luncheon, I left The Dome with two friends around 3:30, and went shopping on Prince's Street, on the hunt for some new black flats, which I found for 4 pounds at Primark (seriously the best store ever), to wear with my new birthday dress that I bought the day before at TopShop! I was not about to go to a Cèilidh (Scottish dance) without wearing flat shoes, because trust me when I say you need 'sensible' shoes when dancing in Scotland (all you have to do is google a Scottish Cèilidh and watch some youtube videos to understand what I mean)!
- Getting back to my flat around 4:30, after the morning/afternoon that I had filled with painted nails, coffee, yummy tea foods and Cava, following my little shopping event, the second I saw my bed I jumped right into it, taking a 30 minute nap!
- Waking up at 5pm to the sound of my flatmate knocking on my bedroom door (the same one who wrote me the sweet little birthday note from the morning), she asked me if I wanted to accompany her up to Prince's Street to go, guess what...Shoe Shopping because she needed to buy a pair of heels and wanted to spend the rest of the day with me! Now even though I had just been shoe shopping and out all day, of course I said yes, got dressed and skipped out the door with her because after all you only turn 21 once, so I figured I might as well go out and spend it with everybody!
- Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, it did! I had the best time shopping with my flatmate over the next two hours, just walking around and talking made me quite happy! I really have been so blessed with all the people I have met here in Scotland!
- Finally arriving back at the flat around 7pm, with only two hours to spare before it was time to meet up with my friends again for the Cèilidh, I cooked myself a shrimp, mixed veggie and quinoa bowl while watching Friends on Netflix, answered some birthday messages, fixed up my hair and makeup, put on my new Cinderella blue dress and slipped on my new black shoes just in time to be ready by 8:30 (when I met up with my friends again to walk over to the dance, which started at 9pm).
- The Cèilidh I went to was a a super fancy place called, Ghillie Dhu! Located at the top of Prince's Street (the top of the west end) for the third time today, I strutted my way back down Prince's Street, ready to dance the night away with my friends!
- While at the Cèilidh, let me tell you, I seriously had the best time! I could have stayed until 3am (when the event actually ended) but my friends and I ended up leaving around 11:30 because one can only take so much spinning and swirling before walking outside in the brisk Edinburgh air sounds like a good idea! But while at the Cèilidh, for the two and a half hours I spent there, I probably danced about 9 or 10 combinations, locked eyes with a few cute Scottish guys in kilts (haha but I never talked to them), danced, laughed, and loved every moment of hanging out with my friends, took tons of photos (some of which I have included here in this post) and just smiled all night because after all I was celebrating my birthday in Scotland!
- Like I said, my friends and I left Ghillie Dhu around 11:30 to head back to our flats, but not before someone said they were hungry... So of course naturally when someone says they are hungry, my group of friends and I all dressed up, walked right into McDonalds! As I waited around talking with everyone, waiting for the others to grab their food, I noticed two things, one, Edinburgh's McDonalds on Prince's Street is VERY fancy and much nicer then what we have back in the states, and two, there were a TON of people inside and out, dressed in ball gowns and black tie suites because that same evening as the Cèilidh, there was also a black-tie ball happening at the famous, luxurious Balmoral Hotel (hmmm I wonder where my invitation for that went... haha), but let me tell you, it was quite the scene to see, all of the ball gowns and black ties, combined with the amazing evening I just had, made me feel like I was living in a surreal movie, topping off my evening to a great end!
- After leaving McDonalds, as my friends and I walked back to our flats, talking with my girlfriends about our spring break plans, I couldn't help but also review my birthday-day in my head, for I really had an amazing birthday, no complaints, no flaws, just the perfect day, the perfect way to spend my 21st birthday abroad!
- Wrapping up my evening, we got back to the flat around 12:30 am, parting ways with my friends at their doors, wishing them a good break, I headed back to my flat, stripped my dress off, jumped in the shower, wrote in my journal again, only to finally fall asleep around 2am! I think it's safe to say I truly made the most of every moment on my birthday!
Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, cards and spent the day with me! Now that I am officially 21, it feels so good! I couldn't have thought of a better way then to celebrate the ending of my spring semester classes, my birthday and the beginning of my now month long spring break! I can't wait to celebrate even more once my parent's arrive in a few days and we head off to another country for a little adventure! Even though April 6th was officially my birthday, I have the feeling that my birthday charm will continue to last all break long, for the spring weather is finally getting better, my parents are coming, I am going to be visiting two more countries and overall with just a little under two months left to go here during my study abroad journey, now is the time to make the most of my stay here in Europe!
Until Next Time Fellow Adventurer, stay tuned to see where I travel to next during my spring break abroad!
Cheers,
Meghan Chayka
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