This has been one of the hardest and busiest years of my life. I’ve gone through so much personally, professionally & spiritually. All that said, nothing could distract me from the impending date of Sept, 18th, 2013; the date that I turn 30.

To be honest, I've spoken very freely and openly about my 30th birthday party the past 2 months. I spent close to 4 hours three weeks ago trying to secure a liquor and beer sponsor for my party. I've emailed countless venues trying to get the best rate possible. When all was said and done, I had rested on the fact that I may have to spend up to $1,500 on my own birthday party... and somehow I justified it.

Three years ago I threw a huge party on my old rooftop in Hell’s Kitchen. I raised about $800 for Charity: Water but also spent $500 of my own money so 200 of my closest (+ random people) could party into the night. I hired a DJ with a premium sound system, bought most of the wine and beer, even purchased special lighting. I went all out. The cops showed up twice. At least four of my neighbors came to the roof to scream at me (though two joined the party). It is still spoken of as one of the best parties that my friends remember. My goal was to top it this year.

Today, August 21st, Charity: Water released their annual September Campaign. I quickly browsed through it and posted it on my social feeds. But I didn’t watch the video until now. These videos are truly made to try and elicit an emotional response. The funny thing is, my response wasn’t “oh I’m sad and feel bad for them, I should do this”. My response was: “I can’t believe how self-involved I’ve been over something as stupid as my 30th birthday”.

That being said, I’m throwing out my birthday party and I’m going to be the most annoying person for the next four weeks to get raise $3,000 so people in India can have clean drinking water. I came to this number because it’s the approximate cost of how much I was willing to spend on my own birthday + an approximate bar tab of my friends.

The term “You Only Live Once” has been used obnoxiously for the past year. It’s typically stated to justify some form of “out of the ordinary” decision making in your life that will bring temporary pleasure. For millions of people in this world, its application isn’t pleasure. It’s application is survival. Please consider donating to help bring clean water to India.

-Nate