I have always been excited about celebrating my birthday – it was initially all about deciding what to wear, who to treat, anticipating gifts and inevitably being asked to cut a cake that someone had taken a lot of trouble to order and everyone else (except me) would finish off.
The last party I threw was for my 30th birthday. After that, something inside me flipped and the way I wanted to celebrate birthdays changed. It stopped being an occasion for me to showcase to the world that I had grown a year older and graduated to taking time off, and celebrating with myself. I basically escaped on this day from my routine life in the city and ran away to places near and far.
As I reflect on my birthday today and remember my travel escapades so far, I feel grateful for the experiences.
![Photo of Birthday escapades 1/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634400087_screenshot_20211016_211737.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 2/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634406815_screenshot_20211016_194705_4.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 3/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634406874_screenshot_20211016_194803_4.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 4/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634406904_screenshot_20211016_194826_2.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 5/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634406923_screenshot_20211016_194843_4.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 6/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634407475_screenshot_20211016_223640.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 7/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634400028_screenshot_20211016_211350.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 8/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634400034_screenshot_20211016_211644.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 9/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634407560_screenshot_20211016_222513_2.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 10/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634400044_screenshot_20211016_212005.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 11/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634398679_screenshot_20211016_195011_2.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 12/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634407616_img_20141018_180012.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 13/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634399944_imag0883.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 14/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634399957_imag0905.jpg)
![Photo of Birthday escapades 15/15 by Steshia Monserrate](https://static2.tripoto.com/media/filter/nl/img/70519/TripDocument/1634400583_imag0158.jpg)
Celebrating birthdays continue to feel exciting.