Biola University First Year Student Journals

The Best Birthday Ever

November 9, 2005 | 7 comments

I woke up and stumbled out of bed, too concerned about getting up for my 8:30 a.m. class to remember what day it was. My roommate Ashley was ironing her hair… and I noticed something thing odd about our full-length mirror on the bathroom door. It had graffiti on it! Oh boy, something was scribbled all over the mirror in red, and I was terrified the RA would walk in and see it.

Rubbing my eyes, I took another glance. As my eyes began to focus, I could see the red blur turn into a Happy Birthday letter. Ashley had used a dry erase marker to write me a birthday letter on the mirror, so I could see it first thing when I woke up. Little did I know that this was not the only thing my roommates had planned!

When I got out of the bathroom, I saw "Happy Birthday" signs taped to my loft along with a letter from my roommate Jennifer. I was running late so I took the letter to class with me and read it there. As I read, I could feel a couple tears filling my eyelids. I am definitely not a morning person, so these acts of kindness caught me off guard and really warmed my heart. After class, I walked out with my head a little higher. It was no ordinary school day but a day to be celebrated. It was my birthday! I had to keep reminding myself that I was 19 years old.

As the day went on I slipped back into my normal routine, with the exception of a phone call from my family back home and some messages my friends left on my phone and on my blog. I felt blessed to have such loving family and friends.

That evening I assumed everyone was busy with classes and homework, so Ashley and I decided that we, along with a couple others, would all watch a movie at 9:15pm.

Ashley had an errand to run and Jennifer left a shortly after. I picked up my textbook and read for a good half an hour. It was almost 9 and no one was back yet, so I decided to do some crocheting. At 9:15, Ashley and Jennifer still weren't back. I climbed out of my loft and tried to find something else to do. I glanced over at my phone on my desk, and noticed that I had 1 missed call.

My friend, Shawna, had called at 9:15pm. I called her back and she said everyone was waiting for me down at Common Grounds for a surprise and that I needed to meet her in front of Alpha. Well, I had no idea who "everyone" was, so I quickly got ready and headed out the door.

I called my friend, Taka, as I was walking down 3rd Long (my dorm hallway) and told him that my friends had planned a surprise for me. I was still talking as I went outside. I could see a shadow moving quickly and growing closer behind me. Before I could tell Taka what was going on, two arms wrapped around me and I was hoisted in the air. I screamed as a towel was placed over my face. Don't be terrified guys- I knew it was all a joke, because I could hear my roommate, Ashley, giggling as I was pushed into a truck.

Once I was seated in the truck, we drove for what seemed like a long time. Finally the truck stopped and I was yanked out of the car and pulled a couple feet through a grassy area. I was still clueless at this point to where we could possibly be going. Aaron and Jordan in "disguise" told me they were going to throw me in a pool. I'm not a good swimmer and the idea of being thrown into ice cold water was frightening. Before I could protest, someone grabbed my arms and another person grabbed my legs. Instead of being tossed into the water I was placed back on the ground. I heard my "abductors" take off.

The towel was still over my face, so I pulled it off and looked around. I was in a park in the middle of nowhere. I honestly thought there would be people around but Aaron, Ashley, and Jordan had jumped back into the truck. The truck started and they took off. I was left in the park alone in the dark! My purse was on the ground so I reached in to grab my phone…They took my phone!

At that point, I thought I might be somewhere in back of or next to Biola, so I began to walk. Behind me I could hear a car park, 3 people got out of the truck and proceeded to chase me. A deep menacing voice demanded that I tell him who my captors were. I gave him the names. I turned around to see Aaron, Ashley, and Jordan laughing and saying "Happy Birthday!"

I have to admit, the whole thing was pretty cool. Ashley told me she had been planning for it a week in advance! I was totally impressed. We all got in the truck and headed back to the school. On the way up to the third-floor lobby of Sigma, Ashley told me that she had reserved the lobby to watch a movie. When we got to the door she hesitated a little and then slowly proceeded to turn the knob.

All the lights were on when we entered the room, as I looked around I saw colorful streamers and several smiling faces. All my friends had come and thrown me a surprise party! I was overwhelmed. Sara, Ida, Ainos, Esdras, Shawna, Shirly, Lorainna, Jennifer, Aaron, Ashley, and Jordan wished me a Happy Birthday. It was a wonderful experience. I am very blessed to have friend like these. I honestly do not deserve them. I have only been in college for less than a semester and to know that people would spend so much time in planning something for me was an indescribable feeling. God has been so good to me.

I came to Biola to grow in my walk with God…that was all I expected. I am rich in Christ. It may seem like an odd sentence but it is true. I planned on coming to Biola, but my main concern was finances. God, through His unfailing love and insurmountable mercies, removed the mountain of worry from my life and gave me exceedingly more than I had asked for. The Lord has not only given me a godly education, two jobs, and the opportunity to share my story with people. He has given me a new found fellowship of friends.