Please like and subscribe to our channel
and click the bell icon to get new video updates.
June 14th, 2007,
my 16th birthday.
I love celebrating my birthday,
but this particular year, I was very sad.
So, this particular day, I was laying on the ground,
looking very,
the way most of us did look in 2020.
Un-showered, hair unbrushed, tangled up,
listening to sad songs and really basking in misery,
the way teenagers know how to.
And I was home with my siblings.
And my parents gifted me a herd of siblings
who are always fighting, doing something,
breaking something.
But on this particular day,
they must have sensed that I just needed a day to be sad,
and I needed the house to be quiet
because the house was quiet
and none of my siblings were in sight.
And that never happens.
So I'm there, playing the sad song,
the same sad songs over and over again.
Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones.
But yeah, I had a few back in the day.
So suddenly, the doorbell rings, breaking the silence.
And I was mad.
I was like, I just needed a day to be alone
and sad and listen to sad songs.
Who dare rings the doorbell?
So, one of my siblings run to me and she says,
"Sandra, Gloria is here."
And I'm like, "What is Gloria doing here?"
(sighs deeply)
And well, I had to go find out.
And I go there, I open the door and there she was,
my best friend Gloria with her sister, Kellya.
And she said, "It's your birthday."
"We're here to celebrate!"
And I'm like,
"I've decided to no longer celebrate my birthday."
Did you not get the memo?
Clearly she did not
because she was at my door with her sister
and she had gifts in her hands.
So, I had to let her in.
So she was like,
"Sandra, you need to get yourself together."
I was like,
you could tell.
I mean, 2020, just picture yourself in 2020,
and you get the picture.
So, yeah.
So, she rushed me.
She's like, "Is there anything to eat at the house?"
I was like, "No."
Saturdays is typically when my grandmother brings
in this food and all this stuff.
So, we didn't have much.
So, we had some rice and corned beef.
And I don't mean the one you eat on Saint Patty's Day.
I mean the one that's in the can.
I'm talking, spam.
It's basically spam.
So, we have rice, spam,
and I think a piece of yam that we ended up frying.
So we made this rice.
And after we made all these random food,
and we are sitting and we eating,
I suddenly realized that not only did we all come together,
my siblings, Gloria, Kellya, to make this meal
that suddenly we are all enjoying and having a good time.
And I realize that my birthday is not necessarily about me.
It is about me.
I am the focal point of my birthday,
but my birthday is about the people in my life.
Now I have to backtrack the story
to explain to you all why I decided
not to celebrate my birthday when I turned 16.
You see, my mom died the month I turned 15.
And that shattered me.
Like, I did not,
I no longer felt safe in the world.
And the world became a place that I was in
but I was out of.
And for that reason,
I felt like my life was basically worthless
because the one person that gave meaning
to my life was my mom.
And she was taken away.
And I never saw it coming.
It was like, I was blindsided.
I was hit by a truck full of glass.
And all that glass was inside of me,
but I got to go on and show up in the world.
And I had no hope left.
No joy, no hope.
I just had to go through the motions of my life.
And that's why I felt like my birthday
was no longer worth being celebrated.
And what happened that day is that Gloria showing up
to celebrate my birthday, gave me hope.
Hope when I had none.
She reignited a light
that was very dimmed.
And it was just
a tiny little light at that time.
But over time, it really carried me through.
And I also realized that,
while we were sitting there eating this cheap,
the cheapest meal you could eat on your birthday.
I realized that celebrating my birthday is also
celebrating my mom because she gave birth to me.
And my being alive is a testament of her life.
And since then, I've gone on to celebrate my birthday.
And some years are more spectacular than others.
And today is my birthday.
And I'm a Gemini,
so, I'm going to ask you all to sing me "Happy Birthday".
Because I have five minutes.
I still have a few minutes.
Okay.
Go on.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday dear Sandra.
Thank you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Thank you so much!