What did you do for your 18th?

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I spent the whole day reading in bed

It was on a week-end so just a normal p*ss up including being thrown out of a pub for being under 18, saying I was 18 today didn't cut it. I never told my mates it was my birthday.

I don't celebrate birthdays.

Nothing really. Cooked dinner for the family, had a good family memory, then went off to bed. I'd much rather give back on that day. I don't buy into this 'present' nonsense.

Laser eye surgery

I had stomach flu and spent the day either in my bed or the bathroom

Well, knowing what I was like back when I was 18 and what my life was like... probably had friends try to give me a birthday experience of some kind, having it go horribly horribly wrong, ending with me getting a horrible headache while they couldn't understand why I couldn't have fun exactly like I'd never ever done before, going home to just sleep for a while, unwrapping D&D books from my family and having my parents get me chicken and fries in an attempt to salvage something happy from the day. I have never really celebrated my birthdays so much as dreaded and avoided them. Everything got a lot better though after I threatened to stab my friends with the cake knife on my 20th when they tried very insistently to force me to get drunk. Err, don't do as I did though, people can take being threatened with knives the wrong way - even when they're being giant pushy douches who wouldn't take any other hint.

Birthdays are just like other days to me. Don't feel a need to celebrate it - I have no one to celebrate it with either. And I don´t like getting older anyway...

Nothing special. The feeling "I'm already 18 and finally adult" was sufficient.

I was on chemo, almost done with it at that point.

I was living on my own for roughly 2 years when I turned 18. I don't remember even getting a birthday present. My parents had long stopped celebrating my birthday and my mother tended to get very jealous and resentful if someone did try to celebrate me. It wasn't really worth it to me. My friends have always been good to me but I don't remember if we did anything or went anywhere. I was living with someone but he was the really odd one so I don't remember him doing anything, nor do I think he was ever the type to extend himself for anyone. The only benefit I saw to turning 18 was that stupid employers wouldn't ask me anymore if my parents approved of me working. I remember when this one place insisted on calling a parent to receive permission. I had her call my dad, who threw a fit. "Are you stupid? She's 17! She has her own place! She has her own car! YES I am okay with her working! She's got to pay her bills. I'm not doing it!" LOL

My 21st birthday went the same. I was living in Germany and had been drinking legally and illegally since I was 16, so there was really no milestone reached. It was just another day in a series of days.

My husband likes to make a fuss over my birthday because I enjoy making a big fuss over his and my kids' birthdays. I love celebrating them but I've been without since I've been 11 so it feels awkward when they celebrate me. It makes them so happy, though, so it's a good time for me, too.

So to answer your questions, I can tell you what I did for years 1 - 10 and then for 27 - the present... but not for 18. Sorry.

It was just immediate family only. We had dinner and then my cake and I opened my presents. Then after that I didn't care for my birthday anymore because only kids get presents. Adults don't have to get them anymore and I was an adult so I couldn't expect presents anymore.

I'd been admitted to psychiatric hospital two weeks previously so I was still there. Saying that, it was a Saturday and as not much goes on at weekends and they considered me well enough by then they let me go home for the evening/night and come back the next day. Went out for a meal with my parents but I can't remember anything much about it as the medication messed with my memories and everything from then onwards for the next 6-8 months is rather fuzzy. I had had some sort of friends at school, but we hardly ever saw each other out of school and even though we had only left school a few weeks previously (my birthday is July) we had already lost touch pretty much permanently, so no chance of any type of celebration with them.

Most of my 21st was spent alone - it was Uni holidays so although I did have a couple of friends they were at that time in different parts of the country. As far as I remember I carefully organised my day (everyone else was at work/school) to do things I liked doing on my own - walking, picking fruit, playing my guitar. It was going to be perfect, then my Grandparents phoned wanting to take me out to lunch and as I couldn't stand the disruption of my carefully laid plans I refused the offer, and instead spend the rest of the day feeling guilty and upset that everything had been ruined. In the evening I imagine I went out for dinner with my immediate family but I can't really remember that as 19 and 20 were pretty much the same.

In general birthdays (since childhood when I loved them) have been disappointing even when I have had friends. A lot in my 20s were shared with my (now ex) husband who had his the day before mine. They were generally OK, although I remember 25 being upsetting after I invited our friends (I had quite a few at that time) to a BBQ and made loads of food and then it rained and few people came. After 30 and 31 being pretty terrible (I was depressed and had few friends at the time) I didn't tell anyone about 32 as I couldn't stand celebrating, but it was sort of sad. Last year (33) I went out after work with the lovely people in my lab and we had a couple of drinks and it was nice. I think big birthdays have the potential to be terrible if celebrated and sad if not, but luckily it will be a while before another one of those.

Not much apart from feeling incredibly lonely and sad.

I don't remember. Too long ago. They are all the same after a while.