16 Candles

Once upon a time 16 years ago, a miracle occurred as the hands of the Almighty Himself touched earth and I, a mere mortal, stepped into it. 

Ha. Kidding. But I think I gave it some flair. 

It's weird to think that I'm actually sixteen. I mean, as corny as that sounds. Nowadays, 16-agers don't really care or take notice of the fact. But looking back, I remember all the points in my life I revered sixteen as the age of womanhood, of officially being a teenager, of almost-adulthood. It was the pinnacle, the golden age of female humanity, in my childhood opinion. I also remember stopping at brief moments to muse:

I wonder what I'll be like when I'm sixteen. 

I wish I'd been thoughtful enough as a seven-and-nine-year-old to write my future self a letter with expectations as to what I wanted to be by the time I was sixteen. It was as far off and wonderously mysterious as imagining my own married life is to me now. 

*Mental note* Write letter to married self.

Now, thinking about it, I hope I lived up to my own expectations. 

I've always been a fan of purposeful birthday wishes. In that brief moment before I blow out the candles, I make certain to concoct the most perfect and all-encompassing wish, one that I believe can be accomplished within the next year. So tomorrow, when I blow out the candles(in one perfect puff, no less), I want to make sure my wish is as fitting as possible for such an occasion. 

So to narrow down the options, here are 16 of the best things I could wish for, one for every candle.

#1: To grow closer to God every day.

#2: To love my family more deeply than last year.

#3: To find true friends and invest as deeply in them as I did in Okinawa.

#4: To work hard for the things I want.

#5: To not just capture photos, but moments. 

#6: To keep concocting brilliant screenplays that fit in the span of an iPod song.

#7: To cross off some bucket list items.

#8: To do something bold.

#9: To never lower my standards.

#10: To take pride in myself, inwardly and outwardly.

#11: To engage in witty banter whenever possible.

#12: To not lose faith in the human race.

#13: To not give up on being the best actor possible.

#14: To love people like Jesus does.

#15: To explore unknown music.

#16: To not need guys for my security, but not be afraid of them either. 

Oh, and let's get a driver's license while we're at it, shall we?