When I first started school, my birthday was right on the cut off mark. This determined whether I was mature enough to go with the class above me or stick behind with the class below me. It's always been a constant struggle to find a class that I fully fit into. In many other instances, I've always been the youngest or always the oldest in each group.

As I start my junior year of college, most of my best friends who are in my grade level are turning 21, leaving me behind, just turning 20 in a few days. It makes me feel a little left out and behind when it comes to wanting to go out to the club with my best friends. I've always had a draw to people who were older than me. I've been told I act mature for my age, that someone thought I was 22 or a senior in college already when I just started my junior year.

But on the other side of the spectrum, I also feel very old when it comes to the younger generation. I have friends who are younger than me, and I often feel like they flock to me like I am the mother hen, a feeling that feels quite special. I have people look up to me and it makes em feel like what I do in my day to day life can influence the decisions they make as well. My brother just turned 18 this past August, and I feel like I can see the man my brother will grow to be and I feel so proud to see him shine in ways I didn't see years before. He is not much younger than me and I know I make an impact on his life. I know the decisions I make away at college influence the decisions he makes at home and in the future.

Being in a class all by myself has given me a chance to take a perspective of both sides. I know what it feels like to be older than the class below me, which taught me how to be a mentor and a mother hen, while I also learned that I can't help but be drawn to people who are mature and older than I am.