The Long Lost Art of Celebrating Milestones That Really Matter

When people ask you about your age, what’s your response?

Are you just your age? Or are you your age and a half? Do you mention when your birthday is or do you leave it out?

It might sound far-fetched, but the answer to the simple question ‘’what’s your age?’’ can tell you a lot about someone.

As for me — I am 29. And a half, at this moment of writing. I also celebrating my half-birthday. I don’t know anyone else who does it, but I think everyone should do it.

Some people will scoff at this idea. But ask kids how old they are and they’ll give you a much more accurate answer than adults do:

Children: ‘’I’m 4… and a half!’’’

Adults: “I’m 62. I think. Or 61? Haha, I don’t even know my own age.’’

When someone asked our age as children, we might have said, ‘I’m four’, and added, with a great sense of pride, ‘and a half’. We didn’t want anyone to think we were only four. At least I didn’t. I felt the need to elaborate more.

Our milestones change for the worse the moment we become adults

I remember my elementary school teacher asking my age in May 2002. Everyone’s birthdays were written on the board. Being a June child, I was so close to 8. And so I told my teacher:

‘’Can’t you just write down 8? It’s my birthday next month.’’

Of course, that didn’t happen. The teacher wrote down the number 7, and I sat back down feeling disappointed. I mean, really? I grew much taller. I learned so many things. I was practically already 8. Come on!

People will frown upon adults if they were to proudly say, ‘’I’m twenty-five and a half’’ or ‘’forty-one and three-quarters’’.

That’s because we’ve drifted away from the notion that adults are capable of evolution too.

The moment we turn into an adult, we learn to celebrate milestones set out for us by society: getting promoted at work. Buying a house. Getting married.

But our inner milestones? In the best case, we recognize them but keep them to ourselves. Worst case, we’re not even aware of them. We just go around our daily lives. We feel like we’re not evolving at all — after all, we’re making the same amount of money, we’re still stuck doing things we don’t like, and we’re still single. Nothing has changed, so what is there to celebrate?

“Sometimes the biggest milestone is deciding to create one.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

We don’t celebrate the milestones that matter the most

Emotional growth is the hardest, most rewarding, and most overlooked kind of growth there is.

It’s the kind of growth that happens in your day-to-day life without an outward measure for it.

Think about it. You may have entirely rethought your dating goals during a weekend getaway or come to an important insight about a belief that’s been harming you rather than helping you. Maybe you’ve made a momentous step in doing something that’s been bothering you for the longest time or found clarity in what you want to do for a living.

We don’t share these quiet but very real milestones. We keep them to ourselves. We’re not given a cake or a present to mark those moments of growth. We’re not congratulated by others or viewed with enhanced respect.

No one knows about our inner milestones. Yet they matter more than anything. They’re the compass that will guide you where you need to be.

So pat yourself on the back. Get yourself your favorite cake. And be damn proud. Share your milestones with the world, or keep them to yourself. Either way, start celebrating them.