Party central

As a general statement, I am a shy girl. That doesn't mean I'm not confident, but, well, that's kind of beside the point. The point is, I don't particularly like being the center of attention. However, something that stands out in my childhood is the vast multitude of parties that I have been thrown for my birthdays.

Hopefully my father will never read this, but if he somehowdoes, let me start with the blanket statement: THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I DIDN'T LIKE MY PARTIES. They were some of the best moments of my life. But I can honestly say that I had the most parties of the girls I knew. My parents tried to devise more and more devious ways to outdo the party from the year before. Most often in my youth it was sleepovers, chuck-e-cheese type places when I was really young. In the tenth grade, I was thrown an epic surprise party. It was intricately planned by my father with my friends as co-conspirators. I was fooled, though I had some previous suspicions because of people acting funny beforehand. But they had rented a huge conference room at a local hotel, fooled me into thinking that I was working an event for my friend's father, and voila... I walked into a makeshift club filled with everyone I had ever met (ok, I exaggerate) and complete with my very own DJ! We danced the night away, though I wish I had had some warning because my hair was dreadful. My sweet sixteen was an absolute success, lavish and insane, an adolescent's dream.

Then, for my 19th, my parents topped themselves. I had been to the Darfur Rally at the State House in October, and told my parents about this performer, Danielle Howle (a local celebrity), that I thought they would like. Lo and behold, they got a hold of her manager and brought her to my house for my birthday party! My friends, family and I gathered in my living room, she sat on the steps, and gave us a concert! It was quite surreal. I'm still not sure it even happened, but I have proof:






This is me and my parents with Danielle Howle afterward.



I have decided that from now on, I don't really want anything more than a nice dinner for my birthdays. I have had more than my share of attention for a yearly event that everyone experiences. But the memories of my parties are some of the best of my life.