Dear Soha,

I know a website isn't the same as being there — no real cake, no hug, no clinking of glasses in the same room. But I wanted your birthday to have something from me that took real time and thought, even from this far away.i will meet with you soon.

So instead of a card, you got balloons that float in code, candles made of pixels, and jokes bad enough to make you question our friendship. That's the most "software engineering student" way I know how to say I care about you.

Wherever you are today, I hope it's full of the people who make you laugh easily, a slice of cake that's actually good, and a quiet little moment where you feel exactly as celebrated as you deserve to be. You've earned an easy, happy year ahead.

Distance is just a bad Wi-Fi signal between two people who still show up for each other. Consider this me showing up, in the only format I know how to build.