Disney Channel Fans

I’m sure you remember that Debby Ryan turned 17 earlier this month. Well, she posted a blog a couple days ago about the party everyone wanted her to have, the party she actually planned, and the party that ultimately happened!

Seventeen: beanbags, a backyard, &roasted marshmallows.

I just turned 17. [Wow. That's weird. Because I definitely never wanted to get older than 16. Is there a way to legally stay that age forever?] Anyway, all month, I set aside last Sunday as a day to celebrate with my friends.

Anyone who knows me, even people who don’t, pretty much knows that I love birthdays! They’d also know that I don’t like to draw attention to myself. I get uncomfortable celebrating my own self. Seriously, my friends make fun of me because I can’t even take a compliment comfortably. So usually I don’t have big shindigs where I rent out venues or ‘make an entrance’ wearing some dress I can’t afford like, “it’s my birthday! Look! Look at me and everyone should come and give me things and talk about how awesome it is cuz it’s my birthday!” Yeeeeahh, that’s not me.

But I do love birthdays, and I love my friends, and I’m always looking for a reason to get together. So this year, I wanted a few friends to sit on beanbags and roast marshmallows over a fire in our tiny backyard.

After a bunch of elaborate plans came and went, Plan A became a Beach Bonfire Birthday Bash [say that 5 times fast!]. Then, more plans were added and embellished, and suddenly there were gonna be glowy lights hanging from a tent on the beach, where a lady will be making sushi, which we will wash down with fancy sparkling juice while listening to music. It all sounded amazing, but kind of like a big deal.

Well, the weekend of my kickback, the beanbag place couldn’t ship them in time, the sushi lady canceled, a few of my best friends weren’t in town, and we had no type of gift bag situation.

I just wanted my chill plan. My beanbags, a backyard, and roasted marshmallows.

We got beanbags at Kmart, a bunch of cute decorations, and craft bags, ribbon, & an ink pad. I found a stamp that said “play in the warmth of the sun; dance in the light of the moon” and decorated the little paper bags with it & some corner stamps. I stayed up late stamping, packing the cars, and measuring and tying ribbons on the bags.

The morning of, my brother Chase and his friend Levi drove out to camp out to reserve our firepits. We fully unloaded our cars, and half of us headed home. Turns out, it was like the windiest day of the year. Our decorations were covered in sand, our beanbags were flying every which way, my guitar was storing sand, and, in a brilliant crescendo, our metal canopy legs snapped in half by the wind and blew halfway down the beach, almost taking out three people before being caught by the boys. I would’ve been there to help, but we were stuck in uncharacteristically still traffic fifteen miles away.

By the time we got there, some guests had arrived, some had canceled, and we had to figure out a plan C. The photographer, Jen, who was going to document the party, had an RV, like a straight up tour bus, and she lived 5 miles away. She’d be there soon & we could all hang out in that in the parking lot. Sounded rad! After waiting behind the shelter of our car, singing, playing guitar and eating some of the sandwiches, literally, no absense of sand, Jen called. The tour bus, which was up & running just last week, refused to start right now. Of course.

Plan D started twenty minutes after the party was supposed to. We texted everyone Jen’s address, packed up our stuff and trucked on over to her backyard. While we were unpacking, setting out food, rearranging furniture, stuffing Radius headphones in giftbags, and starting a fire, people were arriving.

But by the end of the night, acoustic medleys were being played on sandy guitars to the rhythm of the swingset. Bestfriends, coworkers, family, and strangers all bonded over a very special birthday gift [see YouTube.com/TheDebbyRyanOfficial] while the smell of bonfire smoke christened the celebration. We played in the warmth of the sun, and danced in the light of the moon. And what did you know? There were beanbags, a backyard, and roasted marshmallows.

Laying on a beanbag on the cool night grass, surrounded by amazing people, with a bundle of birthday love tucked in my lap, I realized something. Louder than the laughter of the kids on the swings, louder than the harmonies behind me, the percussion to my left, and the guitars I was facing, and louder than the laughter surrounding me on all sides, I heard a whisper. In my mind, something was telling me that all along, this was the plan, and the plan was perfect.

I know I’ve said this before, but I just love how real Debby is.

Also, here’s a recent pic of Debby and Gregg Sulkin. They actually look kinda cute together.

Click to see the others in the set.

Debby Ryan, YouTube | RSS 2.0 | Closed,open.