Your 18th birthday; it’s senior year; you are getting ready to head off to college or start your life. Freedom is sweet on your lips, the gas pedal of that “new to you” car is light under your heavy foot and the night always seems way too young.

Who could forget this first major birthday milestone that marked the beginning of many more to come. Major milestone birthdays are reason to celebrate; let’s take a look at milestone years from around the world and what they mean.

18th Birthday Party
You are finally of legal age; an official adult, about to depart from the next and be on your own, consuming copious amounts of Ramen noodles and staying up to all hours of the night. Your endurance reaches levels you never thought were possible. You have your own car, a bright future, and it feels good. Celebrating this age is embodiment of freedom.

21st Birthday Party
The legal drinking age in the U.S. is now within your reach! It is guaranteed that you will have at least one too many drinks on this night of celebration when you test-drive your new ID at a local bar.
Other countries place significance on the twenty-first birthday as well. This is a huge birthday in Australia- a day where a boy becomes a man. The young man’s parents present him with a key to their home, and he is given permission to come and go as he pleases. He can now stay out as late as he wishes- a far cry from the activity restrictions for most of his American peers.

29th Birthday Party
Youth dwindles for this last year as you begin to look back and prepare to make some serious changes to how you are organizing your life up to this point. Your outlook is positive and you can’t wait to take on that sense of adult achievement in the years to come. For many, the twenty-ninth birthday symbolizes an official end to the more reckless stage of young adulthood. The future takes shape, and concrete plans are made for settling down into adulthood.

30th Birthday Party
Official adulthood! This marks the beginning of the rest of your life. You begin to plan for a family if you haven’t already done so, your career becomes more solidified, and you become more comfortable with the person you are. Adulthood looks good on you; let it shine.
In Germany, if a man doesn’t have a girlfriend by age 30, he has to sweep the steps of city hall as all of his friends throw rubble on the steps, which demonstrates to every woman walking by that he is available.

45th Birthday Party
At this point in time you are deciding that you want to rebuild a classic car, get in shape to look like you were 21 again, or change careers from a corporate professional to a high school football coach. Welcome to the mid-life crisis. However, for a few 45 year olds who are able to embrace aging gracefully, this stage of life marks the beginning of a life devoted to productivity, community service, and leaving a legacy.

After 45, there are other major birthday milestones like retirement age at 65, where social security becomes a well-known friend. Following retirement, the milestones start moving closer together, 75 (¾ of a century), 80, 90, 95 then finally the famous centennial birthday at which a letter from the President of the United States is presented.

Every birthday is a celebration, so live life to the fullest and make each birthday a memorable experience. After all, you’ll need lots of stories to tell at your 100th birthday party.

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