Birthday wishes are a special thing, wouldnt you agree? It comes only once in a year, one wish per cake. And then you have to wait for another year all over again. You see the point is if one was rich, one could go to star gazing spots all over the world to try to see a shooting star; or one could visit all of Europe to find authentic wishing wells, change a thousand dollars into coins and toss them infinitely into the water. But even if you had money, the best you could do is to fly against time to extend your birthday, and you would probably have to blow out the candles in the very plane itself, with meaningful company not included.

So with something so precious, what could one wish for? 19 opportunities has since passed me by. To be reallistic, birthday wishes for age 1 and 2 were probably almost impossible. Unless one was a child prodigy, which I am not. But as I grew up, though not vividly, I can vaguely recall the kind of wishes I made.

As a child, the world would revolve around oneself. Incessant selfish thoughts, even in early teenage years, that would probably be the case. I wish for that toy car, I wish for that toy train, I wish for that power rangers action figure. Then it would probably be like I wish for that mobile phone, that mp3 player, and materialistic ideas like that. Probably some of the wishes would not be so materialistic anymore but still selfish, say more freedom yada yada.

This year, there could be many things I could wish for. The iPod classic, or as my friend reminded me, the pink IC (or instant ORD =X). But I guess its a show of maturity, in recent years, wishes were not for myself anymore. I wished for my family most often I guess. But it struck me this year the reason I could have birthday wishes. And hence this year it was slightly different.

Birthday wishes are only possible because there are people who love you to celebrate with you. And it is only right to return the love, to wish for them back. And this year I did. And it feels like the best thing I could have done.

So, what will your next birthday wish be?