🎈30 Sounds of My 30th Birthday
NYCers give me advice in exchange for free flowers
Hi!
It was my 30th birthday on Monday, July 17. (I know a lot of people born in July so if it was or will be your birthday this month, happy birthday love).
💐I went to Central Park in NYC and asked people to give me free advice in exchange for flowers. I recorded their advice, sometimes in sound and sometimes in writing. Today, I’m sharing the wisdom they entrusted me with.
It’s not a short one but hey, it was my birthday. And it was a ride. Come along?
When I was asking for suggestions on what to do for my birthday, a few people recommended going to to the city and getting free goodies. What they meant was things like a free smoothie, free coffee, free meal, and maybe even free Chipotle. Now, I like free things as much as the next person but this got me thinking.
Q: What is one thing people absolutely love to give for free?
A: Advice.
So, why not ask them for it. With the help of my friends CT and AG, who provided the art supplies, I (read: my inner child) made this board.
My plan was simple — to go to Central Park and advice people for free advice. For every piece of advice, I’d give them a flower. (A real one, not one of the pretty but fake ones here).
Thus, began the adventure.
Okay no sorry.
⏪ Rewind. It wasn’t that magical in the beginning.
It was terrifying. I was going to get on the subway in Brooklyn and go all the way to Central Park with a giant board that attracted attention to me?
I paced around my apartment waiting for courage to strike me like lightning. As I was scrambling for inspiration, a brown unopened envelope marked ‘Shreya’ found me. It was a card my friend GB had given me when I had left Canada for New York. It ended with the words:
‘You’re meant to be in the room where it happens.’
Hamilton fans can understand why that spurred me into action.
Armed with Hamilton, Hadestown, and Amanda Palmer, I boarded the subway.
As I sat on the subway, unsure of this whole idea, someone turned to me and wished me Happy Birthday. He then read my board and said, “Well, here’s my advice to you.”
💜 Now, begins the adventure.
Disclaimer: I am only going to list the advice in the order I received it. I am not going to add my thoughts or feelings because I believe advice is like poetry; it’s beauty lies in its universality and specificity. I hope you, like me, find gold.
1: Listen to your intuition. Your heart knows what it’s saying; listen to its first words to you. - man on the subway with the perfect salt and pepper hair
2: Go to a concert by yourself. - my beautiful colleague who you may know from this
3: Learn how to ride a bicycle. - a 5 y/o, delivered by the medium that his her father
4: Do not get married till your mid-to-late 30s. - a woman walking with her 3 kids and husband
5: Don’t do drugs. - a poor, clueless stranger
6: Stay in New York. - the Universe, delivered by the medium of a girl with pink hair
7: Have a lot of coffee. - a stranger who knows me well
8: Enjoy everyday because you’re gonna look back and think “damn. Remember when I was 30.” - at least three people
9: Invest in the VanGuard Index Fund. - really cool old guy on a bike
10: Something something money something. - this beautiful man who I wasn’t listening to because his beauty was too distracting
11: Nobody ever lay on their deathbed counting the zeroes in their bank account. - a stranger with a gorgeous accent
12: Do not wait. No matter what you want to do; do not wait. Life is shorter than you think it is. - a woman with literal rose coloured glasses
13: Soak it in. Take a mental picture. You are where you need to be. - yelled out at me by a woman riding by on a bike
14: Be brave. - at least four people
15: Those who worry in life, die. Those who don’t worry in life, also die. If you can’t change it, don’t worry about it. - an Irish person with the perfect curls
16: You’ll know love when it comes to you. Not puppy love, but true love. You’ll know it. - a cool aunt out with her nieces who put my flowers in their hair
17: Find love in yourself. And in order to do that, you have to be alone at times. - someone younger with an older soul
18: Every day is your birth day. Every night is your death. - a wise man
19: Everything just does itself. - Megan. We are pen pals now
20: Live in the now. You are where you need to be. - a grandma walking her grandkids. I wish you would have accepted a flower
21: F*ck the dating apps. I’ll find love the old-fashioned way and so will you. - a 21 year-old who sang happy birthday to me seconds after saying this
22: Live right now. - Miss A.
Trigger warning: mentions of death and overdose.
23: Go out with me. - people who don’t get the vibe but I am flattered, thank you
24: Go three months without watching anything. Only read. - Roma.
25: It’ll never be good the first time. - a wonderful soul who gave me targeted advice for writing
26: Lysol the subway seat before you sit on it. - Miss G, a nurse who said she was 42 but didn’t look a day over 25. I had to ID her for proof.
27: Me first. - the cool lady who runs the neighbourhood liquor store
28: In a world where you can be anything, be kind. - my friend who I exchange smut recs with
29: Follow your heart. Always. - person who works the night shift at my building’s front desk
30: Don’t take advice from random people. - a friend who might have been late in delivering this warning
🎩 Bonus: the sunscreen song
CT hosted a birthday party for me and had my friends put their advice in a hat. Against my writerly instincts, I am going to keep those pieces of my birthday private.
☀️ However, I will share the sunscreen song with you. Thank you, DN, for sharing it with me.
With insurmountable joy and endless gratitude,
Shreya
✨ Credits
Everyone who helped me carry my flowers on to the subway.
Mom and Dad. You make life buoyant.
My brother. You make life cool.
My best friends - SR, PB, and GB. You make life bearable.
New York City. You make life magical.
I cried like a baby the whole way 😭 just maybe, everything really is ok.
I'm a little late to the party, but I absolutely loved this list Shreya! Surprised to see my two cents somehow made the cut! Also <3 sunscreen song never gets old!