Birthday Gifts

Alternate Titles: Shopping Your Closet, The Story Behind My Favorite Jacket 

I turned 23 yesterday!

I love a good birthday party and have been planning my own since I was a child; I have done everything from making my own piñata to writing a list of acceptable gifts. I love to celebrate and, if i’m honest, I also love attention, so my birthday is usually quite enjoyable. 

This year, for the first time, there was no blow out birthday party. I spent the day on a Colombian flower farm surrounded by hydrangeas and orchids. I spent the night in a warm basement trying my best to keep up with the salsa enthusiasts who asked me to dance.

I received two particularly fabulous gifts: the first was a visit from Kendall and Kade. The second was Kendall’s jean jacket.

I opened the cloth lucy-and-yak bag, pulled out my favorite denim jacket, and I cried. I actually cried. For reference, someone once offered Kendall $200 for this jacket and they declined because of how much they loved it… So, with tears in my eyes, I asked “are you sure? Are you sure you want to give this away?” Kendall laughs at me and says “yes, you are going to derive so much more joy from it than I do.” 

It’s not like the other denim jackets… It’s just big enough to look oversized over a tank top but fit snugly over a sweater, there’s a very sexy hole on the left shoulder, and it has a pin (in the shape of a dopamine molecule) on the right pocket. In college, Kendall would lend me this jacket so often that it had a permanent hanger in my closet. And, to my dismay, when I moved away from Kendall and their closet, I realized there were quite a few outfits that I didn’t enjoy wearing without Kendall’s denim jacket. 

Kendall is right, I will derive so much joy from this jacket (I wore it all day today despite the heat). Almost as much joy as I derive from the friendship that came with it (cheesy, but true).