Food, the best gift EVER!

I just celebrated my 24th birthday and since it is my last year here I decided that I would have a party at my rather small apartment on campus. The party started after church with everyone bringing a dish or drink to make it a birthday potluck event. It was the most amazing, beautiful event in my life so far. I would say it was spiritual in the sense that afterwards I felt full not in the eating sense (although I did eat plenty because there was a lot of food), but full in that I have never felt sooo loved and appreciated by so many people. 21 people showed up (including my roommate and myself) which was nice since my aunt surprised me by showing up. My friends sang "Happy Birthday" to me in 5 different languages and i got a sixth one a few days later in Sign Language, and my apartment had Little Mermaid decorations which are still up.

I wanted the "gifts" to be food because I knew I would be able to share it with everyone and that it would be something we could all equally experience. Think of it like giving a hug. You give a hug (or food in this case) and you get one back at the same time. Even those who didn't bring a dish, but came simply because it was my birthday made it special. If every last one of my birthdays could like this one I would be thrilled. It was better than any Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any "food oriented" holiday I have celebrated. It wasn't just a family (in the literal sense of the word) gathering and everyone pitched in to make it special; no one person got all or most of the credit and there was a ton of love in the room. Not just for me, but for everyone that was there. It is something I want to do again not just for me, but for my other friends too.

As one of my special friends once said "mmmm that tasty food meal was tasty," and I would say the same about this one because it was seasoned with love.