I started the morning with a song from God. "Blessings" by Laura Story was played during devotions, and the chorus goes:
What if your blessings come through raindrops
What if your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near
What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise
I ended the day, however, receiving a daily bible verse calendar as my final gift. And on my birthday, 1st October, it reads, "Lord, you have poured out amazing blessings! - Psalm 85:1"
Wow.
Actually, there's no 'what if'. To know 'amazing' blessings, it'd need to pour till it droughts and you'd need to cry till you're dry. I've seen the rainbow after the storm, whereas some never do. So I write this to restore faith in humanity. Anyone could be reading this right now (thanks technology), so what better way to give what I have received? What better way to bless with what I have been blessed with?
Hi, (insert your name here). My birthday may or may not concern you whatsoever - you may have received my personal thanks, or you may have seen my tears of joy after a successful surprise. If you're Su Jin, you will have seen my gratitude translated into speechlessness and heightened raw emotion. You may not have known, and did not receive happiness from me in return. But it doesn't matter, because if there's one thing I learnt from feeling true bliss on my birthday, it's that nobody deserves receiving any less. Everybody deserves to understand happiness in the form of pure love and friendship, and by sharing what I received with you, I hope to contribute. I will personally share my 1st October 2014 with you - stranger to stranger, friend to friend - on the place you'd find my greatest sincerity (welcome to my blog).
My birthday was about people:
What if your blessings come through raindrops
What if your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near
What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise
I ended the day, however, receiving a daily bible verse calendar as my final gift. And on my birthday, 1st October, it reads, "Lord, you have poured out amazing blessings! - Psalm 85:1"
Wow.
Actually, there's no 'what if'. To know 'amazing' blessings, it'd need to pour till it droughts and you'd need to cry till you're dry. I've seen the rainbow after the storm, whereas some never do. So I write this to restore faith in humanity. Anyone could be reading this right now (thanks technology), so what better way to give what I have received? What better way to bless with what I have been blessed with?
Hi, (insert your name here). My birthday may or may not concern you whatsoever - you may have received my personal thanks, or you may have seen my tears of joy after a successful surprise. If you're Su Jin, you will have seen my gratitude translated into speechlessness and heightened raw emotion. You may not have known, and did not receive happiness from me in return. But it doesn't matter, because if there's one thing I learnt from feeling true bliss on my birthday, it's that nobody deserves receiving any less. Everybody deserves to understand happiness in the form of pure love and friendship, and by sharing what I received with you, I hope to contribute. I will personally share my 1st October 2014 with you - stranger to stranger, friend to friend - on the place you'd find my greatest sincerity (welcome to my blog).
My birthday was about people:
 |
| Su Jin spent a whole day after prelims giving me the best birthday ever (separate post to come), but guess what, he decided one was definitely not enough. The days we have together at the bleachers now are numbered, and it seems like every morning there is turning into one solid memory dedicated to each morning only. In fact, we would have about 28 more memories there before the rest of the days get meaninglessly wasted away into our notes. The morning of my birthday was an exceptional memory, one I'd tell our kids in future (if any). "Papa bought mummy a hello kitty cake on her 18th birthday and it made me very happy," I'd say. I'd imagine Chandran junior saying, "eeeeee why papa so mushy!!", but I'd imagine Sharmaine junior saying, "I want a boyfriend and I him to give me a hello kitty cake...... when i'm 8!" |
I came home from school thinking the perfect day was over - even the perfect end to the perfect day was over. My thanks yous slowed and my mind fine tuned itself back to the furious rushing of my bio paper due the next day after jumping in the bathroom for a five minute shower (#everyjcstudent). The harsh reality was just beginning to set in when what seemed to be a simple trip to my room to get my towel ended off with the sighting of my smiley face Belgian chocolate ice-cream cake lit in the dark and my church friends standing behind it. Everything was coming together as I realised my dad didn't actually forget to buy the cake and my mom wasn't actually chasing me to shower. What ensued was a series of "OH MY GOD OH MY GODDDDD! !! !"s and instantaneous bawling, which were so bad I repeatedly forgot I had a candle to blow (I wouldn't stop running out of the room HAHA).
My cakes look like me - on the left: a bright yellow smiley face, on the right: a VERY CUTE LIKEABLE hello kitty. Also, I received Ed Sheeran's new album, from the love of my life, Su Jin (whose name will be everywhere in these posts), who also planned a birthday cake surprise for me after my ELL consult. Sneaky Su Jin (or was it more of un-Suspicious Sharmaine) allowed the plan to succeed as he led me from consult to the void deck, where my 2nd cake of the day was.
Previous tweet reference: "Others get a face to the cake, I get the face for a cake" HAHAHA (please laugh.)
Special thank yous to:
1) Everyone who got me something hello kitty related - polo babes/Shev/Su Jin/Jason/Bryan. I'd like to acknowledge that it is a very smart choice of gift - especially when you have no idea what to get me. (Jk HAHA). I always lament about flowers and balloons being the most useless gifts on earth, but anything branded with hello kitty and her face - perhaps ten hello kitty balloons or a bouquet of 20 hello kitty flowers (I DON'T CARE IF I'M BIASED) - will score you recognition on my blog ding ding! Y'all the best kay, keep pacifying my fangirl tendencies.
2) Best AND WORST guy classmate/friend/buddy ever, POH BOON KIAT, who came down to school with a cereal box and card for me, and a fever at the same time. Poor guy took a pink slip right after trolling me with a birthday card that said "Happy Children's Day" and a box of honey stars (cos I gave him cookie crisp on his birthday). I don't know if he went back home feeling more sick with satisfaction or with his fever.
3) My beautiful sister, Shevonne, who was the person to present me with my first birthday present - a beautiful blue dress which seems to perfectly tick off every single one of my fussy criteria for clothes. Also, she wouldn't stop saying I love you and giving me hugs. Truly I am grateful. I won't write much because you'd know through my everyday actions how grateful I am indeed for you.
4) Jason from my church life group for initiating the home surprise. I feel like I really do not thank you enough for who you are. I wish for a second that I need not have been the 'surprisesee', just so I can see for myself the thought you put into it and give you the recognition you deserve. Thank you so much for being a friend that is always there - not so much in your words but fully and sincerely in your actions and in your musical talent. I still owe you a song, I didn't forget. Forgive me for taking so long, but it will come. Thank you.
Plus - my WHOLE life group, who took me for a Japanese buffet yesterday (clearly my birthday is over), bought me my favourite EVERYTHING (has Shevonne been giving hints?), and made adjectives out of the first letters of my name. My personal favourite - E for emotional. Jason says it's because he hasn't seen anyone react to a surprise the way I did.
5) Glendon - I've returned you a very sincere reply after your very sincere message (love u brah)
6) Lastly, Su Jin Chandran. Because I want the world to know all that you've done for me, I'll be dedicating a whole post to our private birthday celebration, soon.
But I'd like to end off by writing about the impact you've had on my birthdays (and future ones to come). I don't deserve all this love. I don't deserve all this appreciation. Clearly, something has changed this year. I'm loved by many more people around me, because I've spread the happiness that is Sharm everywhere I go. You'd agree that my already existing happiness was a lot less contagious than it is now, and thus I've never received so much in return. You are the change. You are the beacon for this happiness, a happiness that deserves being shared. Everyday you inspire me to write without simply treading on the same path. You allow me to detour so that each new word I write is a fresh perspective. You love me, so that I can love others with a love I thought was humanly impossible. And you never fail to amaze me.
Thank you for reading till the end. If you've managed to survive this long-windedness of mine I hope you've learnt a new definition of love and bliss as well.
- Sharmaine
