As of 2/14/26 at roughly 7pm, I am 18 years old!! HELL YEAHHH!! And I still watch cartoons and like video games, which I recognize to be a very tame statement on the internet but my parents are kinda freaked by it lol.

I don't feel any different. I mean, it was only yesterday when I was 17 so there's no way I've changed drastically. And yet today I can do things like vote, consent to sex, die for my country. Weird... (and do NOT twist my words, I DONT SUPPORT PEDOPHILES AND I DONT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH AGE OF CONSENT!) I think there are a couple of reasons why I feel so indifferent. One, in Somali culture, you become an adult at age 15. So when I turned 15 in Somaliland, I was actually already able to do all those things. Secondly, I've always felt mature. Which I know is very eyerolling to any older people reading this, but hear me out. I'm not actually mature, I do very immature, impulsive, and reckless actions all the time. I'm saying I've always felt a bit disconnected from my peers in my age group, and felt a bit more mature than them. Not in a way of superiority, just in an outcasting, isolating way. So to be deemed an adult by western society is freeing. Plus, ever since I was a child I've been dreaming of independence. I want to have my own house- or err apartment, apparently gen z will never actually get to buy houses. I want to have my own place, do my own chores, do my own shopping, do my own decorating, do everything to my particular tastes. I recognize how privlidged I am that my parents are able to provide all this for me, and I am very grateful for that, I'm just excited to have my own way of life.

So, for my actual birthday, I had a great time. I first opened up my birthday packages, (which I gifted to myself which is kinda weird, but my mom said she wasn't doing birthday celebrations for me anymore lol, thank god for government money!) I finally got my hands on a 3ds, (another side tangent, I actually did get a 3ds, specifically the new 2dsxl, and that was the reason why I haven't updated the site in so long, since I had so much to talk about it I wanted to explode!! But it broke like after a couple of months and I was devastasted to say the least. However, alhamdulilah, I was able to buy another one and mod it again, AND was able to get save data back despite the console being completely broken.) It's the OG 3ds in the misty pink color, and it's Japanese which is so awesome. Speaking of Japanese, I also got a Japanese volume of Yu-gi-oh! I'm such a huge Yugioh fan if it isn't obvious and I'm learning Japanese so I'm so happy to have this book! Especially since it's one of my favorite volumes, featuring Duke's original backstory and Yami Bakura cheering on Yugi!! Oh my god when I first read it online... legally... I was going nuts and I was so freaking giddy, I cannot believe the anime cut this all out! I also got a Sonamy sticker pack too. I'm also a very big Sonic fan, ever since I was around three years old? Honestly, I can't even remember when I wasn't a huge sonic fan, it's a lifelong obsession. I'm a multishipper, so I'm not just a Sonamy shipper, I also like Shadamy and Sonadow. But this sticker pack by misasshion on Etsy is so cute I just had to get it! Lastly, I got myself a Wii to mod and play with my family. I've always wanted a Wii ever since I was a kid and I'm so excited to play all the games I couldn't before, and I can't wait to play all the Sonic games on the Wii.

Wooh, typing all that out made me feel kind of spoiled. Honestly, receiving all of that made me feel very spoiled. The only reason I could afford all of this was because I had a lot of money left over after FAFSA paid for my school, (which I NEEDED btw, or else I literally couldn't afford to get an education, plus it's a community college anyway. And America gives like trillions of dollars to Israel sooo.) And I got pretty good deals too. So I'm really thankful and blessed. And I'm really glad that it's not like my 15th birthday where I got a pair of cheap wired earbuds that broke within a week lol.

Anyways, next I went to the Mall of America. I was originally going to go alone but my family tagged along lol. (What happened to not celebrating my birthday? lol.) I went on to the Rock Bottom Plunge for the first time with my younger brother, who'd already went. Actually, I'm the only one in my family that had yet to ride the Rock Bottom Plunge, even my motion sick mom rode on it and she feels sick when someone even spins infront of her! The ride had steep drops, loops, and even went fully upside down. I was pretty nervous, I felt like my soul fell to my feet. But once I was on the ride and fastenened, and when the ride started to move, a wave of regret washed over me. I literally yelled out "What am I doing!?" lol I was too nervous to be embarassed. And so we went up slowly, at a full on 90 degree angle, and not to mention my glasses were off since I didn't want them falling off. Oh my god I was so nervous, I had no idea what this was gonna feel like, as I haven't been on a ride anywhere near as intense. I closed my eyes once I was near the top, and then we dropped. Oh my god. I'm literally feeling my heart sink writing this... It was so intense it felt like I was in a giant washing machine. I felt like my organs were flipping around. One moment I was flung up, next moment I was slammed down. I thought I was gonna fall out of my seat. I was for sure screaming. I was literally screaming out Ayat Kursi and the last 2 ayats of Baqarah, (Islamic prayers), because I was so scared. Then, oh my god- then I screamed "I'm not a terrorist, I'm just a Muslim!" Which I'm laughing at even as I write this. Kinda dark how I felt the need to say that, especially with how I was treated at the airports leaving and coming back to America, and just in general, but I'm just too embarassed that I literally yelled that at an amusement park to get into that lmao.

Then I went shopping, got a cool Yugioh shirt, (literally gasped when I saw it at Hot Topic,) and got another Sonamy sticker from the same Hot Topic. I played a couple of arcade games, a quarter a piece, and then got some boba. Then I got some Chipotle and spent the rest of the night modding my 3ds. All and all, a very great birthday. I'd say it's tied with my 12th birthday, where I got to see the first Sonic Movie and got Animal Crossing New Leaf. That movie is very special to me lol, and that was all before covid, before my life took a very huge turn lol. Wow there's no way I could've imagined things would turn out like this, Allah is truly the best of planners.

I wanted to do the 18 meme, but I didn't finish on time ;_; it's okay tho I'll finish it sometime this year, I cannot miss this man I've been waiting like 8 years or something for this.

I also got to message my friends as well, IRL and online, (and IRL/online? idk this is confusing,) and one of my friends Moon sent this:

teeheee :333 i love being a bakura fan