88-year-old grandma goes viral for singing 'happy birthday' to herself in quarantine

Norma Gregorio is about to be your new favorite person. This 88-year-old grandmother is quarantining like the rest of us, but that means that Norma was, sadly, alone for her birthday. That didn't dampen her spirits, though! 

She simply lit candles on her cake, sang "Happy Birthday" to herself, and made a wish before she blew them out! A hero for our times. Her granddaughter Jessica had the cake delivered to her and was the one to post the video of Norma singing to TikTok, where it proceeded to go totally viral.

At first, I thought maybe a video of a grandma singing to herself might be a little sad, but I was wrong! Norma is an inspiration! She wasn't about to let a global pandemic come between her and her birthday celebration, so she just went for it. It's inspiring! 

And pretty much the whole internet thought so, too. Jessica told People, "When she got the flower cake, she decided to record herself and send it to us. I thought it was so cute so I uploaded it to my TikTok not thinking anything of it. Next thing I know, millions of people are watching, commenting, and sharing it." 

The video has been viewed over nine million times and has millions of likes and tens of thousands of comments. Norma is a star. And she is loving it.  

Jessica said, "I told my grandma that I was getting messages from all over the world wishing her a happy birthday, and she didn't believe me. She thought I was kidding." 

But now that Norma knows she's famous, she's eating up the attention. "She absolutely loves the attention so much," Jessica said. I told her she's a star, and she said, 'No, Jessica, I'm not a star. I'm a galaxy!" 

Norma addressed her new fans on TikTok to say thank you in all the languages she could think of. "This was by far the most special birthday ever, and you made it so. Yes you did. Thank you," she says.  

You can go to Jessica's TikTok page now for regular updates from Norma. She begins every video by saying, "Hello my TikTok friends!" Norma a true bright spot during these dark times.  

Norma didn't expect all this attention, but she's relishing it while it lasts, and it's bringing great joy to her days. She's always been determined to live her life to the fullest, no matter the situation. 

Norma told CNN, "I start the morning saying, 'Thank you God for giving me this day to live through,' because each day is a life in itself. Especially when you're 88. You have to live it fully, completely, and just live in the moment. To be old, every day is a gift." 

Norma wasn't sad when she sang to herself. For her, it was about creating her own happiness. "I'm always happy," she told CNN. "It's easier to smile than to frown. You look around and you see those frown lines, they're ugly. But smile lines? They're beautiful. So I'm always, always, always happy."