Today sure has been a whirlwind, I even spent half an hour typing a post just for the app to crash as I tagged it. Today had its ups and downs, there were times I felt down and others not quite, but hey, I'm 17 now. Puberty. While I was initially greeted with condescension and belittlement from my family, I received £200 in cash, so... who's the real winner here? The celebration started at 12am, the second the clock changed I greeted scratch-one-grub , lejackbrown and hold-me-close-dont-letgo with 'a year from today I will be able to do all the stuff I do now... Just legally.', which launched the influx of birthday messages from them on our group chat and on my Facebook, and an honorary tweet from kisssyourknuckles who woke up especially to wish me a happy birthday before... falling back asleep. High school beats the shit out of all of us. My sister wished me a happy birthday ahead of time, since she recently started university and would be too busy otherwise, and I honestly didn't expect my other siblings to acknowledge me. They didn't. I got up at 7 on my day off (lies, I stayed in bed til 8) to meet scratch-one-grub at her college, we had breakfast and, what I had intended to be a 2 hours at most trip, turned into a complete day out. I saw my friends, watched a concert in the music department, laughed and talked, and met someone I have a vague dislike for in the flesh. I had a complete bitch sesh with wonderfulclamchowder , caught up with monumentally-fxcked-up and had a great day at college while nobody realised I didn't go there. England. I went to subway and got two foot long subs, because fuck you, digestive system, which I then ate while watching Parks & Recreation. Then watched Bob's Burgers with a killer stomach ache. Do I have regrets? Maybe. Would I do it again? Definitely. While I had some disappointments because fuck Arriva and the NHS, and didn't get to play my four person pirate movie oriented board game, I did get something better (and the promise of gifts and hugs from the absentees attribute to that). While waiting it out, fezzesareessential gifted me with four birthday-specific Sebastian Stan edits (which I love) and some reassuring messages and birthday wishes... after receiving ten notifications across various social media, apps, emails and... her calendar. Her phone is just very enthusiastic about my 17th anniversary of birth. Dedication. My parents forgot. To end the day, scratch-one-grub carried a two foot giraffe balloon (I'm between the names Jeff, Greg and Andy right now), a Mrs Ashley Purdy pillow and the Alive and Burning CD in (what was left of) broad daylight, all the way to my house (about a ten minute walk on a main road) and we sat on my bed to watch. Reminiscing about the day we met them, October 12th, almost a year ago, and saw them last... and there were squeals. And tears. Mostly from myself, CC looked at the camera twice (that man will be the death of me.) and I was hyperventilating and hugging my CC teddy bear. I also shared the two posts of my car accident on my birthday last year, in memory of my fucked left wrist and leg. Had it been my right, who knows if I'd have been able to draw and fulfil my dream of being a tattoo artist? I'm being dramatic, but it was a terrible crash, car ruined and bumper hanging off and doors being too damaged to open. Not long before they played In The End, signalling the end of the show, I was tweeted by Jake Pitts. A member of one of my favourite bands had wished me a happy birthday, and I'm still grinning so hard my face hurts. As I walked her home for the final time (since she's moving) as one part tradition and one part last time it's ever going to happen, Matt Yanni also wished me a happy birthday. All I need now is for Drama Club to do the same and I can call it a perfect birthday. (They didn't.) It's been a pretty hectic day, some highs and lows, but it's been pretty great. My original post was a lot happier than this, this one sounds bitter when I read it back because it's my second type out haha. Above all, today has been brilliant, even though I have notoriously fucked birthdays. I've cried 17 years straight, although this year it was mostly happy tears. All the birthday wishes on here, Facebook, Twitter- it was awesome, and I feel so loved and appreciated. Thank you so much for the great day, I can't say it enough, but it was amazing. BlackVeilByeBitches, -Ash