Every year on December 2nd I feel the same rush of nostalgia joy and gratitude. It’s Britney Spears’ birthday, which in my world basically means a national holiday.

There are pop stars, and then there is Britney. The woman who changed pop culture, fashion, and my life. She’s always been my number one since day one; the blueprint. The reason I believe in pop music as art and as therapy.

She’s the reason I fell in love with music videos with sparkly costumes and storytelling, with the idea that a three-minute song could make you feel understood when nothing else could.

Britney was the first person who made me feel seen. I never fit in with the boys growing up, and I carried that heaviness for years, but then there was Britney. This light. This energy. This girl from Louisiana stepped on stage and made the world stop.

She taught me that being different could be powerful! She taught me that being sensitive could be beautiful, and she taught me that joy is something worth fighting for.

Britney has been through so much and the world has seen too much of it. It’s always hurt me to know how often the media treats her like a spectacle instead of a human being with a heart and real feelings. But even through everything, she continued to shine. She continued to survive. She continued to fight for her life, her freedom, and peace. That’s not a weakness, that’s a strength in its purest form.

I think that’s part of why she means so much to so many of us; she represents resilience and empathy. She represents the version of yourself that keeps going even when the world misunderstands you. Her music grew with us.

From the innocence of Baby One More Time to the bold confidence of In The Zone to the masterpiece that is Blackout and beyond. Every era is tied to a memory, and every album feels like a chapter of my own life.

So today we honor the queen that is Britney Spears! Not just the artist, but the woman. The mother. The survivor. The person who deserved better from the world but still decided to shine anyway.

Britney, thank you. Thank you for letting us grow up with you, and for the music that held my heart when nothing else did. Thank you for the light you have always carried, even when people tried to dim it. You changed pop culture forever, but more importantly, you changed people… you changed me!

Happy Birthday to the one and only Princess of Pop. The number one forever! The woman who will always have the biggest piece of my heart… Britney Jean Spears, we love you endlessly.