Birthday Reflection

I celebrate my birthday every year by calling people together to have a lively gathering. The only year I didn't was last year, when Teacher Jiang had surgery on my birthday, but I still didn't forget to boil an egg for myself.

I like celebrating birthdays; it feels like punching a time card, a record that I have grown another year older, and that my experience here has extended by another year. This past year was actually quite special and worth remembering, though I might not necessarily be able to hold onto the memories.

A few days ago, while writing calligraphy for the company, my hand trembled and reminded me of my grandmother. I judged that it wasn't out of reverence for the rice paper, but likely because I had drunk too much alcohol. See, I truly am a person of foresight; only regular script (clerical script) can hide the hand tremors that come years later, and perhaps it might even be praised as "great dry-brush technique." Perhaps this could be considered a benefit of drinking too much.

To this day, I remain emotionally stable, understanding, and often forgiving of myself. For the coming year, I hope to be healthier, as health is, after all, the most useful thing. Wishing you all the same.