Birthdays only come around once a year. On June 10th 2018, I turned twenty one years old. After two years, I felt the 'birthday feeling' again. This year, I started to get the feeling of excitement for my birthday since May. I felt so excited, so ready for a new chapter. Since I was a little girl, every year when it was my birthday season, I started to count the days until my birthday and could not sleep the night before the big day.

I remember when I was in primary school. We always had to wear our uniform to school, but when it was somebody's birthday, they were always allowed to wear whatever they wanted. So, imagine that every kid felt extra special when it was their birthday. The tradition we had, was that we treat drinks, food and snacks on our birthdays in class, and afterwards we picked three or two friends to help hand out the treats to every teacher in school.

My first and second birthday celebration with my family

From my first birthday to my sixteenth birthday I threw a party every year. Mostly, little girls always wish for dolls and when they get in the phase of being a teenager, their interests are changing to makeup, clothes and all the 'girls stuff' - so did I. As you get older it’s natural that your interests change. Of course, I still love all the 'girls stuff'. By that I mean makeup, beautiful clothes and shoes are never too much in my closet. But these things are not the things I put on my wishlist on my birthday anymore. The older I get the more aware I become of the 'value, gratitude and appreciation'. They say that the most important and valuable things cannot be bought with money in life, they can only be taught. Most of the time children have big 'unrealistic' dreams. Even adults do. I have learned that you never can dream too big. It is your duty to turn your dreams into a reality. Every single thing is possible, nothing is impossible. What I discovered about myself the last few years is my concern about the well-being of others. All I wish for is the well-being of others, and so the well-being of the world. I love to see everyone happy around me. If that is not the case, I am always making sure that the people in my environment are feeling happy again. 

Back to my birthday weekend. Friday, June 8th, I attended the end of the year party of my student association, Surinamese Students Abroad(SSA). I had a lot of fun. At the same time I celebrated my birthday. We danced to the beats of the DJs and had a surprise dance act. After the event, I went to get some food with the group and afterwards I went home with Sheetal, my best friend. The next day, after we had a goodnight’s sleep we got ready for the day. As we all know, when girls are getting ready it takes a few hours. Of course, we had girls talk, talked about a lot of memories and things that happened in the past. When we finally were ready to leave, my best friend and her roommate sang 'Happy Birthday', which made me feel so good. I will never forget that.

Then Sheetal and I went to the train station together. I went to my mom and Sheetal went to a Shakira concert. When I finally arrived at my mom’s house, I ordered a pizza, which is my favorite food. Together with my mom and stepfather, we ate pizza and played a tile-based game called Rummicub. We played it until it was 00:00am when it was finally my Birthday. After my mom and stepfather had wished me a very happy birthday and Sheetal and Jade, my two best friends, had called me to wish me a very happy birthday we finally went to bed. The warm birthday wishes started to come in. I could not sleep because of the excitement and decided to write this blog about the build-up to my birthday.

Me and my best friend Sheetal

The BIG day, Sunday, June 10th, I woke up at 11:00 a.m. I went to get myself ready for my big day. I had a long day ahead of me. My mom, stepfather and I traveled to Amsterdam where we met my Grandmother, aunt and Sheetal. We started walking through the streets of Amsterdam. Of course, I went shopping. Then we went for dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant, Sumo.

This year, for my 21st birthday, I wanted to do something special - donate money to Sea Shepherd Global, an International direct-action ocean conservation movement. That is why I created the fundraisingpage on Facebook. The reason why I chose for this charity is, because since I was a little girl every time I went on vacation with my mom and grandparents I knew there would be a beach. I was so excited. Since I was a little girl, I loved the beach and sea animals. Every time when I’m on a beach it feels like I’m on another planet. It hurts me so much to see our beautiful oceans and sea creatures worsen due to pollution. Every time I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed, I’m being confronted with heartbreaking pictures and videos of our polluted oceans and hurt sea creatures. The mission of Sea Shepherd Global is to protect all our beautiful oceans and sea creatures. Their mission means so much to me. Their campaigns have defended whales, dolphins, turtles, sharks, penguins, seals, fish and aquatic birds from illegal fishermen, declining of habitats and exploitation of imprisonment. Many of us complain about how our oceans and marine animals are worsening, but we do nothing than share the videos on Facebook which are going viral and give our opinions about the videos. I want to be one of the few people who takes the initiative to call on society to do something together with me. I hope that you will consider contributing to this cause as a way of celebrating with me. Every little bit will help me reach my goal. Change starts with yourself. Let's do this together and let's start today. We have no reason to start tomorrow!

 

Our children need healthy oceans and healthy oceans need healthy sharks. 

Finally, I want to thank each and every one of you for all the beautiful and warm birthday wishes. I am so touched and thankful to be blessed with such awesome family and friends. May God bless each one of you! 

Lots of love, warm hugs and a lot of positive energy, 

Chayenne