
I’ve never been one to care about gatherings or celebrating birthdays, but this time especially, I almost can’t stomach celebrating while thinking about others in crisis in this pandemic situation. At other times, that can be a problem for me, caring too much. In this case, I think it’s…justified. My birthday is in a few days and in the past, my friends and I would gather to simply hang out or do some sort of charity. It hasn’t been consistent but this time, I’m deciding to make this a yearly thing.

I was encouraged to find others who’ve gone the same route, sharing their experiences or projects publicly or anonymously online to inspire others. Now I’m actually getting excited to plan. Do I come up with 37 (my age) random acts of kindness, like someone did before? Perhaps this can be a month-long project, in lieu of celebrating for more than a day, kinda like a birth week or birth month thing. I’m sharing some ideas I came up with below. Very much open to ideas or even collaboration:
- Build an app where people can safely (and freely) seek help emotionally, by connecting with mental health workers or professionals (volunteers).
- Raise funds to give care packages, safety kits and some grocery to the homeless or those who lost jobs or are stuck due to the travel restrictions in place.
- Give food and drinks to frontliners I know or living around me.
- Pay for someone’s meal/drinks at a restaurant/cafe I visit (takeout, of course).
- Pay double for the fare next time I ride a grabcar/uber.
- Support small and local businesses by buying more from them and giving a good or at least honest review.
All my ideas thus far. Feel free to pitch in:)