By Ashley Paiva
As COVID-19 lockdowns continue on in the city, as well as in other places in the GTA, I’d like to take a step back and look at how people’s birthdays went during these many lockdowns. It’s been just about a year since the first lockdown happened, so how did people celebrate during the lockdowns?
At the beginning of 2020, people born in January and February were okay and could celebrate however they wanted without worrying about anything except having too much fun. That all changed in March and has continued to this day. Many people were upset because they couldn’t see their friends. They also say it’s boring and seems like just another day to them unlike prior years. This is understandable given the extenuating circumstances.
Although many didn’t celebrate much except with family and a small event, some did celebrate relatively normally as the lockdown wasn’t there over the summer. So, people with birthdays then got to celebrate even if it was with a small group of friends and family. Even though it was masks and social distancing they still had a relatively normal day.
Many found it annoying to be stuck inside with their families especially since everyone was stuck inside from March and only went out for necessities. Others who are more introverted found no issue in just having something small. It definitely put a damper on what was for many supposed to be a very special day.
I, myself, turned 16 a few weeks ago and my birthday was nothing to write home about. My mom was so upset she couldn’t throw a huge sweet 16 party for me. I was upset, but also kind of happy as I didn’t want a huge party. I usually had a party with family and then another with friends, but this past year was different. With the lockdown it was very simple, some decorations were put up and I mainly just spent the day with my family and my mom made dinner. Some had a similar experience and had fun with these events during the day nonetheless.
Throughout the months people are starting to wonder, what will happen next, and how will the rest of this year come to pass. Will it get worse or will it smooth out and possibly leave the world free to live it’s life and continue with birthdays and other special occasions like we used to. Whatever happens, many of us hope our next special day will be better than our less than average birthday this past year. How was your special day during the pandemic and the various lockdowns?