Having a birthday during the fall season is truly great. Growing up, I didn’t get pool parties or a bouncy house on the front lawn, instead, as a kid, my birthdays consisted of movie theater trips, and sleep overs where we watched "High School Musical" and made our own choreography to the songs. It was usually always raining or cold, but no matter the weather, the day was always great. But there is one catch to a fall birthday for me...I’m very young for my class.
“You’re a baby!”
No, this quote isn’t an insult, it’s a reaction. Fun fact, when you have a birthday late in the year, you are either older than everyone, or younger than everyone. Me? I think I’m the youngest in my class at my college, and it’s always been like that with the exception of maybe one or two people. So how did I end up walking into college being 17 for most of my first semester? Well, it all started way back in preschool.
Most school districts have a cutoff date for keeping kids back a year based off when they were born, and it’s different everywhere! My districts cut off date at the time was December first, and my birthday is November 18th. So with some conversation with my preschool teachers, my parents decided to put me into school. I walked into Kindergarten at age 4!
So no I did not skip a grade, and yes I was born in 1997, not 1998. Being the youngest really doesn’t bother me. I think it’s funny! Every year when my birthday rolls around and I tell people what age I will be, the looks on their faces is pure surprise. There are freshmen in college that are older than me. Funny how things work!
Being the youngest in my class has had a pretty big effect on me growing up. Because everyone was older, I was more immature, and this led to me being a bit more socially awkward and out of place for a while. I was more introverted and very quiet. It wasn’t until high school did I really grow up and start coming out of my box,and learning to adapt to the new fall semester's quicker.
I think the only downside to being young for my grade/class over the past years, was everyone turning the cool ages first. A lot of my friends had their permits and licenses before me in high school, and in middle school when it was so cool to turn 13, everyone was over it by the time I turned 13. So many people turned 18 and became official adults and began signing their own papers in high school and college, where I still needed a parents signature for mine. And now, within this next year, many of my friends will be 21, so they will be able to drink while I won’t turn 21 until my senior year of college. It seems by the time I turn the significant age where I legally am allowed to do something, the excitement is no longer there for everyone else. Which is okay, it’s still exciting for me.
So if you find yourself being the youngest of your class, embrace it! Don’t feel left out when it comes to people turning the “cool” ages before you. If anything you’re just fashionably late to the party!
