For many of us birthdays are a national holiday. It should be a national holiday for us all. The day we were brought into this world is special, well noteworthy at least, in our own minds. So every year, though many of try to deny, we want to celebrate, but often life has a more sour twist planned for the occasion. It can help to remind yourself that... it's just another day... creeping closer to death.
Redditor u/anastasiasky wanted everyone to tell us about their life celebrations by asking..... What is the worst thing that has happened on your birthday?
You killed Mrs. Fields.....
GiphyI had asked for a cookie cake from Mrs. Fields cause they're awesome. My step mom said she would bake one and it would be even better. She somehow mixed up sugar with salt while making it. What came out of that oven was a war crime. Col_Walter_Tits
Just go to Micky D's....
Fell off my brand new tricycle and broke my arm on my 4th birthday. My mum didn't believe my arm was broken so didn't go to the hospital until 2 days later.
Also when I was about 12, I had my party at a park, this was before the days of mobile phones and my friends who were coming couldn't find us. They gave up and all went to McDonalds together, while I sat and ate my cake with my Mum. Worst thing was the following Monday when they talked about how much fun they had without me :-( babydoll-81
How dare you!
My mom is a regifter, despite being extremely picky about the gifts she receives. She is not poor.
This year for my birthday, I received a box with wrapped gifts. Opened one, then realized it was a carefully-selected gift I had given her two years ago at Christmas. When she called, she asked how I liked my gifts (which included a 15-year-old candle from her closet, and stationery from her own stock of sidewalk sale finds.) I didn't have much to say.
She texted later that she could tell I didn't like my presents, but that she put a lot of work into shopping for and wrapping them. I wrote back and said my feelings were hurt that she re-gifted me something I gave her.
She informed me that she sure wasn't going to send presents anymore. t-brave
On Impact!
I shared my 11th birthday with a pal from down the road and his parents were giving him a party so he invited me, along with some of our friends, to share.
In their front garden (Surrey - UK) they had a sunken lawn which doubled as a tennis court or a playing field for us youngsters, but this year there was a huge thunderstorm that emptied massive quantities of rain on us and drove us all indoors. The party was somewhat dampened until the storm ended and we found that there was easily a foot or more of rainwater in the sunken lawn. We quickly scampered out to splash and play in the water - it was brilliant.
In the middle of all this there was suddenly a dull screech and thump on the road outside and it didn't take long for us to find out that my pal's father had crossed the road to nip to a nearby shop - and on his return he'd been hit by a van. Sadly he died on impact... never to be forgotten even though that's now almost 63 years ago. Leo9ine
Man down!!
GiphyI got out of bed, shouted "It's my birthday!" slipped and fell down the stairs, and ended up in hospital with a concussion.
Basic floor plan for those confused about the stair location. hobbes_shot_first
A Dour Christmas....
I was going through chemo on my 13th birthday and spiked a fever and had to be hospitalized. My birthday is December 24. My sister told me I ruined Christmas.
I was so ready to just give up and die that night. imsomessedup
Don't be tardy....
My parents completely forgot that it was my birthday. I was excited all day to get a present or a card or anything, but the entire day went by and no one remembered asides from one random friend at school. It was really depressing.
My dad ended up remembering a day or so later because he checked Facebook and saw the notification. pm_me_orange_birds
Life.... and Death....
My best friend (and best coworker!) And I made big plans for a taco lunch after my birthday because my family had plans to take me out on my birthday. When a call came through on her phone on my big day, I assumed she was calling to wish me a happy birthday. Nope. It was her family calling me to tell me she had passed away in her sleep earlier that morning. Everything just stopped in that moment. So much sadness still and this was nearly three years ago. Gnome926
Still Mad.
Was at Maccas and played truth or dare with my 8 year old friends, they dared me to go and stand outside (didn't specify for how long). Me assuming someone would come surprise me with a b-day present I waited out there for a good 30 mins. No one ever came, I went back inside and everyone other than my parents left. My parents thought i was saying good bye to everyone. Still mad. arisian_largechair
"What’s the most amazing thing about the universe?"
Our Brains Are Like The Milky Way
"A single human brain has as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy."
"Around 100 billion."
"Source: a neuroscientist filled with useless facts about the brain."- Afferent_Input
Where Our Deep Uncertainty Comes From
"This is one I thought about recently."
"I believe that Carl Sagan said that we, sentient entities, are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
"With this in mind, when we think about the end of our universe, whether it be through a big shrink, big cooling, or what have you, we get apprehensive."
"We probably will never see this end, many of us will be dead."
"Yet, we still get a cold fear in our hearts."
"We are also a way for the cosmos to fear it's demise."- TheClassyEngineer
A Little Perspective
"If you were on a planet 65 million light years away from Earth and had a really good telescope, you could see the dinosaurs."- Swimmergent
lisa simpson space GIFGiphyWhat Got Us Where We Are
"That every single random event since the dawn of creation."
"The birth and death of stars, planets and galaxies, the very genesis of life has led to you being here right now to ask this question."- Jesus_marley
There's Another World Out There...
"Imagine being transported to a parallel universe that was almost identical to our own."
"Somewhere out in the vastness of that universe, there is a tiny planet."
"This much is true in both universes."
"On this planet, there is a beach, and on that beach, there is a small stone."
"Once again, both universes are alike in this regard."
"Beneath that stone, however, there are several million grains of sand, and while they are all are in precisely the same location in each universe, one of them, a tiny speck of particularly clear quartz, hewn from a larger whole millions of years before, has a single atom that is positioned a fraction of a femtometer differently than its twin in the mirror dimension."
"You may think that such an insignificant difference would label these two universes as being functionally identical, and you would be right."
"In fact, they are so similar that the multiverse has long since combined them into one reality."
"That single atom in that tiny speck of sand on that lonesome beach on a distant planet merely occupies two spaces at once, seeming to an outside observer to vibrate back and forth at a predictable rate."
"That every atom in existence seems to do the same is probably a coincidence."- RamsesThePigeon
Loop Space GIF by xponentialdesignGiphySpeaks For Itself
"That it exists."- phillipsd001
The Age Old Question...
"It must be true that either it didn't exist, then it did."
"Or it has always existed."- realFraaErasmas
What Makes Our Brain Work...
"That somehow all the particles accumulated in a specific way and in specific quantities to give you conscious thought."- Sphyrwa
Stars Glow GIF by Erica AndersonGiphyThe Inevitable End...
That whatever our problems are, big or small, it won’t matter in 1,000,000 years (worst being a nuclear war or something). - Reddit
There are countless things about the universe no one will ever know.
But mysterious and, sometimes, unsettling as it may be, there's something oddly wonderful about the unending exploration and study to learn what is out there.
And all the discoveries we have yet to make.
"What fictional character's death still hits you hard no matter how many times you watch it?"
Dear, Noble Artax
"I have to say the death of Artax, the boy's horse, in 'The Neverending Story'."
"Watching him sink into that swamp was pretty awful."- powderkegpitbull
Bubba of Forest Gump
"'Bubba was my best good friend'."
"'And even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner'."
"'Bubba was going to be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by that river in Vietnam'."- FlyingVI
Stoick The Vast
"Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, Hiccup's father, from 'How to Train Your Dragon'."- Waldo_007
how to train your dragon animation GIF by Universal KidsGiphyThe Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant."- roo719
Noble Canine Companion
"Fry’s dog from Futurama."
"Another testimony to the fact that animators can be true storytellers, who don’t always need words to get their point across."
"The changing of seasons as the dog sits and waits in front of the pizza shop."
"Waits and waits for Fry, who never returns."
"No dialogue."
"Just the absence of the dog, eventually."
"Ugh."
"Gut wrenching."- iwokwuplikwthis
Animated GIFGiphySweet Ofelia
"The little girl from Pan's Labyrinth."
"In fact I just started crying even thinking about it"- choppcy088
Beloved Dr. Greene
"Mark Greene on ER."
"20 years later and I've never watched that episode without bawling like a baby."- LadyGreyIcedTea
A Hero's Death
"Wally West in 'Young Justice'."
"It’s been about a decade and I’m still mad about it."- Remarkable-Duck-2306
Video Game Laughing GIF by DCGiphyA Heartbreaking Escape
"When Brooks hangs himself in 'The Shawshank Redemption'."- Horror-School-6713
As the saying goes, those we love never truly leave us.
In the case of fictional characters in film and television, however, they are literally preserved for eternity.
Paving the way for new generations to be devastated and traumatized by their deaths.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/