I never really experienced rites of passage that people typically do throughout childhood and adolescence. I had an unusual upbringing in the sense that I was consistently uprooted due to a number of overseas moves, which led to my general lack of knowledge/interest about these “traditional” rites of passage.

Here are a handful high school rites of passages I never experienced:

• Graduating from primary/middle school in order to enter high school
  I left my first middle school in the US at the end of sixth grade, which meant I missed out on the eighth grade graduation. At my new school in Australia, students graduated from primary school in year six and not year seven. I transferred to my Australian school at the beginning of year seven, so I had just missed out on graduation. The first time I ever graduated from anything was when I completed high school!
• Sweet sixteen birthday party
  My sixteenth birthday was a quiet and lonely affair. I had just moved to Chicago from Australia, and I didn’t know anyone in Chicago besides my immediate family. My sixteenth birthday “party” was comprised of myself, my mother, my brother, and a chocolate cake. It was nice, but definitely not the sweet sixteen bash many kids expect on their sixteenth birthdays.
• Driver’s license at sixteen
  I didn’t get my driver’s license at sixteen. Honestly, I was never bothered by this, I managed just fine without one. Besides, I think sixteen is too young to drive; the thought of the sixteen year olds I know on the roads scares me.
• Getting my first car
  This ties in with the whole driver’s license thing, for obvious reasons. However, I also have zero interest in getting a car of my own. The area I live in has good public transportation, and where I go to for college has excellent public transport. Ideally I’d like to live in a city like London, Paris, or Hong Kong after I graduate from college, all of which have phenomenal public transport and there is no need for a car. I don’t want to deal with car payments, insurance, maintenance, gas… it’s all money I’d rather not spend on something I don’t see as needing.
• Getting my first job
  Unlike most teenagers, I didn’t get my first job in high school. I was on a student visa in Australia so I legally was not allowed to work, and then my final two years of high school took so much time and energy out of me that I didn’t even want to think about a job. (I don’t count babysitting gigs as an “official” job.) I did get a job at college though, it just took me a little longer than most of my classmates to get the ball rolling on the job front.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

Today is my 19th birthday.

I’ve had a very enjoyable birthday weekend so far. Last night I went out to a lovely birthday dinner with my friends, followed by some wild and crazy shenanigans. The theme for my party was “Gossip Girl” and although most of us interpreted the theme loosely, there were some great outfits. I personally was Blair Waldorf and I rocked the most kickass dress with the highest heels I’ve ever owned. I looked fantastic, and my friends who were Chuck and Serena also complimented my outfit for Blair very well!

I will be spending today with my family, showing them all the great places there are to see in my city as well as taking them to one of my favorite restaurants for my birthday dinner. I’m not really one to celebrate birthdays (or any holiday really, with the exception of Chinese New Year) but I decided to make an exception this year and I’m glad I did. 19 should be a great year!

Question of the Week: What has been your favorite birthday celebration?

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.