Her birthday was earlier this month, November 14, and every year since 2012, I have put some sort of birthday project together for her just to do something nice for her. For the past two years, I had fans submit messages, videos, and photos to a birthday Tumblr for Sarah. It was pretty successful. I got quite a few fans to contribute, and Sarah did see it.
But this year I wanted to do something different. I hadn't gone on Tumblr much this year, and I just wanted to do something new.
So I decided to put together a little care package gift that I sent to Sarah via mail. I had already started looking for a present to give her at some point about a year ago, so it wasn't too difficult finding things to put in the package. Actually, I pretty much knew everything I was going to give her.
What was in the package:
- a journal with a Bible quote on every page: I know Sarah's religious, and I always think it's a good idea to have a journal, so I liked the idea of giving her a blank journal that had a bunch of Bible quotes in it. That way, it could be used as a prayer journal with the Bible verses on the pages as guidance or just a plain old journal/diary that had Bible quotes as a daily verse or something.
- Ferrero Rocher candy: That's Sarah's favorite candy, which I learned when I did a mini interview with her for the 10 Things You Don't Know About Sarah Finnegan blog I did for Triple Twist.
- An iTunes gift card: Sarah likes music, (who doesn't?) as she can play the piano, and her favorite music is Christian pop according to her USA Gymnastics athlete page. So I recommended Kolby Koloff's music to her. I attached a note to the gift card that basically said 'You can spend this on whatever you want obviously, but I recommend Kolby Koloff because her music is really great and spiritual in a not-so-obvious way.' (I recommend Kolby's music to anyone though. She only has a few songs, but I love them all.)
- Three cards: One of the birthday cards was just from me and had my message for her in it, and the other two cards were blank cards I filled with messages from some of her fans. I only had six fan messages, which is less than what I usually get for the birthday projects I do for Sarah, but oh well. I'm just glad I got some people to contribute.
I also decorated the box with a pink chevron pattern (pink is her favorite color, and mine too!) and some Bible quotes that related to birthdays to make the plain, white box look more fun.
I was really excited for Sarah to get this package, because giving presents is one of my favorite things ever. (I love Christmas for that reason and more.) So I went to the post office to send it early so she'd get in in time/before her birthday, which is November 14.
I sent it the Monday before her birthday, and she got it that Wednesday, the 12th. The whole time the package was out for delivery, I was constantly checking the tracking to see if it got to her gym yet, because I was so excited for her to get it. When I saw that it had been delivered, I was so anxious for her to get it. I just really hoped she'd like it, and she did!
She tweeted about it, and she seemed to really like it, so I was ecstatic. It's a great feeling when someone appreciates and loves what you give them, which is why I love giving presents to people.
Such a sweet early birthday present! Thank you @TeamSFinnegan for putting this together!! Much love😘🎁💕 pic.twitter.com/OfrJ6DGOtS
— Sarah Finnegan (@sfinnegan37) November 13, 2014
Two days later was Sarah's birthday, so I posted an edit of her on my Instagram for her birthday like I do every year. Later that day after I posted the picture, she commented on how much it meant to her and how 'she's blessed to have a supporter like me,' which meant the world to me. That is most definitely one of the nicest, if not the nicest, things anyone has ever said to me. Reading that made me feel appreciated, and that's a good feeling. It also means a lot coming from someone you look up to and don't even personally know.
So I would just like to say thank you to Sarah for everything's she ever done for me. Sending her this present was just my way of thanking her. Ever since I became a fan of Sarah in 2012, she's had a great effect on me. She has inspired me to be a better person and to have faith. She's an amazing gymnast, but just a wonderful person too. Even if she wasn't a super-talented gymnast, she'd still be someone I'd look up to. To me, she just seems to be a very positive person who always takes things as they are and to have faith and trust in what's going on, and that's something I try to do.
In late 2012, I was struggling with something personal in my life, and I thought of how Sarah always finds glory in whatever's happening. Her motto is TGBG, or to God be glory, so I just thought of that during that time. Instead of trying to figure out why this was happening to me, I tried to be thankful and happy that I still have my entire life ahead of me.
So thank you, Sarah, for the impact you've had on me and my life. I couldn't have asked for a better role model.
So I would just like to say thank you to Sarah for everything's she ever done for me. Sending her this present was just my way of thanking her. Ever since I became a fan of Sarah in 2012, she's had a great effect on me. She has inspired me to be a better person and to have faith. She's an amazing gymnast, but just a wonderful person too. Even if she wasn't a super-talented gymnast, she'd still be someone I'd look up to. To me, she just seems to be a very positive person who always takes things as they are and to have faith and trust in what's going on, and that's something I try to do.
In late 2012, I was struggling with something personal in my life, and I thought of how Sarah always finds glory in whatever's happening. Her motto is TGBG, or to God be glory, so I just thought of that during that time. Instead of trying to figure out why this was happening to me, I tried to be thankful and happy that I still have my entire life ahead of me.
So thank you, Sarah, for the impact you've had on me and my life. I couldn't have asked for a better role model.
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