Veintiuno!

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Greta! I remember once the doctors and nurses settled down from the frenzy of your arrival on 05-05-05, everyone started joking about the day the Cinco de Mayo baby would turn 21. And now here we are!! Brainy, beautiful, and ready for booze! Just kidding…ish. 

In true G fashion, the year we celebrate has been your biggest and boldest yet...you were only in Niskayuna for ~40 days over the last 12 months! From the halls of power and influence on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to peaceful sanctuaries in Tijuana and San Diego, to night romps through Copenhagen, Berlin, and Qatar, and finally to adventure after adventure criss-crossing Kenya, the last 365 days have been a true whirlwind of adulthood. Add in climate-change-focused internships at Earthday.org and the Kounkuey Design Institute, duties as a sorority chair, volunteering as a conversation tutor with the Washington English Center, working as a part-time nanny, and making music as a pep band flutist, and it’s no question that you filled the hours, days, weeks, and months living the Gen Z dream.

You’re fiercely independent, super studious, and a dedicated friend. You loved sharing an apartment with your besties off campus, hosting dinner parties, and being a “Big” to your SK “Little.” You met a nice guy who became a nice boyfriend, and suddenly luggage space/weight when packing for your semester abroad had to include his 4.4 lb Lord of the Rings paperback so that it could be read in a continent it hadn’t been to yet! You’ve turned into a bona fide runner (completing your first half marathon!), and even joined Zumba classes in Nairobi. You biked Hells Gate twice, hiked all of the Ngong Hills, logged dozens of miles in Karura Forest, traversed the Turkana Basin, and combed miles of beach and tidal pools. I am so glad I got to experience a week in Nairobi with you and that the Bailey Bunch could provide you with a home away from home... we'll have those sweet memories forever.

All in all, it was an exciting year for you...and for us to watch you experience it! We are happy to have you here for the summer and will do our best to make it a memorable one. For now, though, close your eyes and make a wish, then raise your glass and say cheers! Love you, chickadee... keep flying high!