In 2023, I spent my birthday alone for the first time. At the time, I was going through a divorce… but more than that, I was still learning something I had never truly practiced before… how to choose myself. For years, I considered other people, because I didn’t believe my own needs were valid enough to prioritize. I had been in a space where my voice was quieted, my opinions didn’t carry weight, and I second-guessed almost everything I thought, felt, or wanted. So when my bi