A woman in Los Angeles is celebrating a milestone birthday while she also keeps family and friends smiling.
Gertrude Hawkins is now 106 years old, and her birthday is March 28, 1917, the year the United States entered World War I.
Hawkins, who was born to farmers from Mississippi and Arkansas, is now affectionately called “Aunt Trim.” She never hesitates to tell those around her what she thinks, ABC 7 reported Wednesday.
During her party, she said she does not let anything bother her because worrying about what you cannot control only causes grey hair, something she hopes to avoid.
Friend Lou Davis has known her for over 80 years and called her a “giving person,” according to Head Topics.
“She is a giving person. Kind. And we like her charisma. We love her charisma. The way she carries herself,” Davis noted.
An image shows the birthday girl, wearing a green and black outfit, with a huge smile on her face at the celebration. A table behind her was decorated with large gold balloons in the numbers 106:
The family followed her when she moved to the West Coast, according to her great nephew, Ryan Hope, who said it if it were not for her adventurous spirit, none of them would be there now.
Hawkins recalled her childhood as a hard-working farmer and said it was a great life, even though at first she did not feel that way.
“I thought it was the worst life in the world, but it was the best life,” she commented.
Meanwhile, social media users lavished well wishes on her, one person writing, “She looks like the life of the party. Happy birthday, young lady!”
Now, Hawkins, who has an adopted son, wants everyone to know her secret to living an abundant life.
That secret is to treat everyone right, the result being you will have no worries or regrets. She added, “I got one answer for everybody, it is to live and don’t die.”