DK List: Best Birthdays.

So this past Sunday was my actual birthday. Good Lord I'm beginning to get old, I'm approaching my quarter-century here on this Earth. Today I didn't really do much to be honest, especially considering how late I woke up (more on that in a minute) but like I always preach in- the best part of birthdays are the appreciation that you receive from your friends and acquaintances whether they show up to celebrate with you or even give you a birthday shoutout. Some people forget, which is okay- I have that tendency with some people's birthdays to do that too...and that doesn't change my perception of them. With that said, I've taken into account every birthday since I was 18 and tried to figure out how they were in order:

7) The 19th Birthday- It was an utter joke and disappointment to be frank with you. This was my freshman year at NYU- we were gonna party at this bar formerly known as San Marcos..but I didn't have a fake ID nor was anyone able to lend me one. With that in mind, I basically wandered around aimlessly for a little while before heading back home. I was pissed off. Although I just joined my fraternity, I still felt like that outcast because I didn't feel comfortable at all at NYU, nor being the only commuter at the time blew as well.

6) The 18th Birthday- I mean, you can't really expect much when you're this young; but hey- you can now buy Playboy, a lotto ticket and a pack of cigarettes! My plan was to go to the ESPNZone in Times Square and watch the dunk contest...but only one other person was able to come with me. Nevertheless, we had a chill time just walkin around Times Square, watchin this dunk contest (which was a hella good one...it was Jason Richardson vs. Desmond Mason if my memory serves me right) and I don't know...it was decent.

5) "I Can't Feel My Face 24/7 Guarantee" (My 24th birthday)- Now, in these top 5...none of these birthdays were bad whatsoever it just so happens some were crazier/special than others. This weekend was good- Thursday night I hit up Karaoke night with the regular crew and I got annihilated. After an off day Friday- I went to this bar Porky's on Saturday night. While I was disappointed in the turnout at Porky's- I'm not gonna complain about who came (aka the people I can rely on to be there). Whatever happened there, stays there. That's all I'm gonna say but I'll say this: Birthday people there definitely get preferential treatment (free 3 hour open bar AND a free fishbowl? Mercy). Nevadas was chill as well when I got to meet up with the rest of my crew.

4) "2-3 Zone" (My 23rd birthday)- It was tough to put this one in here- because I probably got the most annihilated on this particular birthday...but I did mainly because the Thursday night spot I went to (party at Spy nightclub) was pretty weak. They offered me 25 free tickets, which sounds like a dope deal initially- I thought for sure 25 people were coming but only 10 did. They said Open Bar 10-11 but it was really $1 drinks ha. I did get my "free" bottle of champagne- which was really $15 ha. I didn't stay there too long, but I did get trashed. As the weekend progressed (Cheap Shots/Coyote Ugly/Nevadas on Friday; Taj/Nevadas on Saturday) it got a lot better...and a lot more trashed.

3) "Deuces Up" (My 22nd birthday)- I had this divided up into two parts: a "Code Bent Parade" on my actual birthday before where I went to Cheap Shots, my fraternity house, Pourhouse and then Nevadas...and then the next day I went to Gypsy Tea where they had open Goose bar 1015-11. I had a shitload of fun, especially chillin with so many people comin to both of my events. I was annihilated on my birthday- I was given a double shot of 151 which was just not needed...meanwhile Gypsy Tea we got it poppin rollin like 20 or so deep.

2) My 20th birthday- My birthday that year fell on a Tuesday of all days. It also happened to be the day of Mardi Gras. As a sophomore at NYU now, I was slowly beginning to get more comfortable in my surroundings and more open to making friends, etc...but I was still having my doubts. But in comparison to the year before where almost no one even knew it was my birthday, I got a lot of birthday love. It made me feel happy, no doubt about that. When one of my boys however decided to throw a random "Mardi Gras" themed impromptu bday party for me at my fraternity house, to be honest I was overwhelmed and speechless. This one event was THE turning point of my NYU years.

1) "Bentness Personified" (My 21st birthday)- Of course nothing beats your 21st because I believe I was drunk by 2pm. I bought myself a pint of E&J (as any upstanding nigga would), mixed it with A&W Root Beer ha (I don't mix E&J with anything anymore though- I am a much more hardcore drinker now I guess) and drank that shit in my Sports Law class. The E&J would carry over to my RA Training Session, then I visited a couple of bars that would give me some beer and shots. I had 2 PBRs and 2 vodka shots in about a half-hour span. Recipe for nightmares. I tried goin into my Licensing class and I got there at like 640. My head was spinning tho dear God. I left the class, puked and never returned ha. From what I know, I passed out in the lounge...til 1050. Realizing that I had people waiting over for me at a bar Second Nature ($15 Open Bar Wednesdays 10-1) I needed to hurry there ha. Basically everyone from my fraternity showed up and it was a dope as fuck time as expected. I don't remember what actually happened there (as I shouldn't have anyway) and just remember curlin up into a ball on the E train back home. How the rents didn't know I got home at 315am and was piss drunk was no one's guess. Talk about luck.

And so on.