My Golden Birthday Gift

Photo record of Z's past month's adventures:  D and Z explored campus to celebrate the end of the semester.
D wanted me to get this shot.

          Every year most people celebrate that one unique day that means they survived another year.  Usually on this day the one turning a year older receives gifts and/or well wishes from loved ones.  When you're 18 or younger these celebrations usually hold more meaning.  If someone doesn't show up to the birthday bash or forgets to wish us a happy birthday it might be very devastating and ruin our day.  As we get older our birthday might seem less important as we hope simply to hear a few well wishes and maybe get something from our parents or those closest to us.  I know there are even some people would rather let their day pass unnoticed.

We got a little snow at home so I made sure to take advantage and get pictures.

          I am not one of the overly dramatic types nor am I one who prefers to ignore my birthday.  I like to celebrate, and every well wish and birthday hug means a lot to me, it means I matter to the giver.  Gifts are always fun, too, of course.  As I grew up, though, my birthday focus switched from the gifts I got to the people present at my birthday dinner.  It means more to me to have my family around me on my birthday than it does to get a gift.  Most gifts are usually consumables such as sweets, or clothes.  I enjoy both of those things very much, as the givers know or they wouldn't be giving them to me.  But, for my golden birthday I decided that I didn't want any tangible gifts, no money, no sweets, nothing that comes from a store.

Sadly, the second day we got a decent amount of snow was also the day I got really sick.  I'm almost all better now.

          This is all I will tell you now, though.  I could continue typing and recount the events by memory, but wouldn't it be even better to hear about the adventure from the Czarina who was living it?  How about I let my 21 year old self tell you the beginning of this tale straight from my journal:

Guidelines 

            Today is my 21^st birthday.  Not an ordinary birthday, however, but today is my golden birthday.  As May neared I realized that I needed to decide what I wanted for this day.  For my brother’s golden birthday he received 13 candy bars on the 13^th.  I don’t want candy bars, I am trying to eat less sugar.  And I cannot think of anything that I would want 21 of them.  After mulling over a few ideas it came to me.  I do not want 21 anything, but I want to visit 21 state parks.

            Accomplishing this is easy when stated so simply.  Unfortunately for my family and friends who will be dragged along to these parks, I upped the ante by adding stipulations. 

            First, I must visit 21 state parks.  We already know that.  They cannot only be Illinois parks though, I prefer to see the world a little broader.  The second rule is a time restraint.  I’ve learned that if your goals don’t have ‘due dates’ so to speak, they will probably never get reached.  I am giving myself one full year.  I like this rule, too, because it will give me a chance to see state parks in all seasons.  Thought of seasons causes me to add a third must.  I must take pictures at each of these parks, meaning we cannot forget the cameras or it is almost a wasted trip.  It would not be a completely wasted trip because I will still have fun and enjoy the experience, but the park cannot be added to my list of 21.

            Look at a map of Illinois and you might scoff saying that I still haven’t made my goal any more difficult.  There are many dozens of state parks in Illinois so it would be nearly impossible not to visit 21 in one year.  My friend pointed this out when she started suggesting parks within five miles of my house.  I realized that this will not do.  I have probably visited over a dozen state parks during my life simply by picnicking or going for a drive.  Many of the Illinois state parks are small, without trails or much to see.  These won’t satisfy me.  I want to hike, see interesting natural formations, and get away from home.  So my final rule is that I get to choose the 21 state parks, and any that I visit outside of my choosing are just for fun.  Of course, all of my visits are for fun but the ones I choose will be special.

            Having my guidelines set up I am going to visit and photograph 21 state parks of my choice through the seasons before I turn 22.  Since I have already written this much, I may as well also record my experiences to share with others, mostly my future students.  This summer is for you as much as it is for me, my family, and my friends.  

          So there you can see 21 year old Czarina's goals and hopes for the year.  Which ones came true or not you will have to wait and see just like I did.  The anticipation is so much fun!  Since this is a very long adventure by its very nature, I'm going to try to keep the posts from becoming overwhelmingly long.  My next two posts will also be from 21 year old me about the Planning Process, and Preparing Our First Trip.  At the time my dad suggested keeping a journal of all the parks and our experiences as a resource for me to use for myself or to share.  Unfortunately that turned into an overwhelming task that I simply didn't have the time or patience for when we actually started visiting parks.  Sitting down and reflecting also took a bit of the fun out of the adventure; it felt like homework.  But I promise to share everything that I did write.

D and Z had a fun Xmas 1 with friends, Xmas 2 with Z's Dad's whole family  united for a first and amazing time, Xmas 3 with Z's family, and Xmas 4 with D's family.  Pictured: Elfonso is from Xmas 1, and Y Ddraig Goch got left behind at Xmas 2 and stayed with us until the new year.

          Come along with me on this journey and I promise you will not be disappointed.  At the very least you might have already started thinking about alternative gift ideas for you or someone else when that special day comes around.  I hope you all had a joyous holiday season and I hope the new year brings you and your loved ones much happiness and keeps you  healthy.  I had a fantastic winter break as the above pictures hopefully showed.  Oh yeah, and I only got 1 B, the rest of my grades were As!!! So yes, I celebrated.  Next semester won't be as easy.  Onward to adventure!

The two buddies enjoyed celebrating New Year's eve with D's family, so did I! They're acting like D and Z.