By Abby Kennedy and Clio Roker
Instead of a Quinceañera, Sweet Sixteen, Driver’s license, or metallic 18th birthday balloons, students are getting creative with celebrations: quarantine style. Birthday parades that consist of driving by the house of the birthday girl or boy in a parade of cars, birthday Zoom calls, and other indoor celebrations have been popular ways of keeping birthdays special, safe, and socially distanced.
Some students like seniors Tara Razavian and Peyton Turner have found creative ways to celebrate their birthdays with family and friends virtually. Tara celebrated her birthday on a Zoom call with friends.
“I’m so happy that I got to spend my birthday talking to my friends even though it wasn’t how I wanted to spend it. It was nice to see everyone and know that we could still be together despite the current situation,” said Tara. “It felt good to hear everyone singing happy birthday together.”
Many students since March 16 have not been able to celebrate in a traditional sense or in the way that they had planned. But, despite the strangeness of the current situation, quarantine celebrations are turning out to be perhaps the most memorable.
What a great thrill to open up your door and see a present waiting for you. This was the reality for Peyton Turner when she got birthday gifts from her swim team. Peyton, as well as others like seniors Corine McCarthy and Maddi Segarnick, got the pleasant surprise of a birthday parade their coordinated by their friends.
Though it may feel like stopped has stopped in quarantine, as the weeks go by, people are aging up and entering new phases of life.
If you would like to send a birthday message to someone celebrating in quarantine, feel free to give a shoutout in the comment section!
Peyton Turner’s dog, Olive, dressed up in a birthday hat for Peyton’s 18th birthday.
Tara Razavian celebrated her birthday on a Zoom call with friends.
Gifts dropped off at Peyton Turner’s doorstep from her swim team.
Senior Corine McCarthy celebrates with a birthday parade of her friends.