Photo courtesy of Unsplashed.
Turning 21 is one of the most anticipated birthdays in someone’s life. If you live in the United States, one of the few places where you have to wait until your early 20s to drink, it’s something you plan years in advance. Unfortunately, all birthdays have been quite different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I celebrated my 21st birthday in quarantine as did several of my friends. Before the pandemic forced bars in New York, my home state, to close, I was excited to spend my 21st at a bar. From what I’ve seen in movies and heard from some of my older friends, most bars are really fun-sounding places where you can order the craziest signature cocktails, meet new people, play pool, and more. I live two hours from Manhattan, so I planned to go to a lesbian bar in the city named Henrietta Hudson, but that dream was taken away from me for now. I did have the chance to order takeout drinks, which means that an employee from the bar comes outside to your car to deliver drinks in takeout containers. Still, I cannot wait for the experience of being in a bar and ordering drinks.
The rush of buying my first drink was enormous. Looking back on it, it reminds me of when I learned to drive. Both times I felt as if I were being entrusted with something of great importance. As I wore my mask and the cashier checked my ID, I wondered if he would tell me I needed to remove the mask or to even question if it was me, because my picture was taken when I was 16. I mean, I’d like to think I’ve grown and matured since then. He gave it back to me and nodded, and when I walked out of the store with two cases of cider and beer, I felt different. I spent the rest of the day with my family at our home in the mountains, playing some pool towards the end of the night like I probably would have done in a bar. We had cocktails, great food, and great company. I don’t think I missed out on too much looking back on it.
Many parents (including mine) have been really trying to organize their child’s 21st birthday to make it special during this time. A mother and father in New Jersey created “Club Quarantine” for their son turning 21 and posted a video of it on TikTok (@emilytorchia). His father acted as the bouncer and made sure to check his ID before allowing him entry into the club, while his mother poured him some drinks inside and acted as the bartender. Free and delicious alcoholic drinks on your 21st birthday? Not too shabby. Other parents have modeled this, albeit a little more mildly, by making their newly 21-year-old cocktails and sharing their experiences of turning 21.
I briefly spoke with Gretchen Volk ‘21 who also turned 21 this summer during quarantine, and she said: “Turning 21 during a pandemic was very strange. I guess it lessened the excitement for me and made it seem like any other birthday. I had a great time, but it definitely was not what I pictured my 21st birthday to be like. It was also strange for me because the town I’m from [Rumson] still had many bars open, but given that we are in a pandemic, I did not go to any even though I could because I was 21.”
Having any birthday during quarantine is disappointing. The pandemic has required us to make a lot of sacrifices in order to keep people safe. But if you feel angry or disappointed that your birthday won’t be the same, that’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it because it’s a normal reaction. Whatever you choose to do, just find something you enjoy and surround yourself with some people you love who will ensure that you have a great time. The pandemic has taught me the most about how precarious life is and made me think more about what I enjoy doing and trying to incorporate that into my life. I’m really excited to see if bars live up to their reputations in movies and of things I’ve heard from friends, but it can wait. As always, please drink safely and follow social distancing and mask protocols if you are celebrating your birthday with anyone outside your home (or dorm room roommates).
