For those of you who didn’t know, 2016 is a leap year! Why? because 16 is divisible by 4. Every 4 years, there is a magical 29th day in February. An extra day to the year that gives 24 extra hours to those always asking for more time. Now there is approximately a 1/1461 chance of having a leap day birthday, therefore making those of us born on this beautiful day special magical beings chosen from the gods.
No in reality having a leap-day birthday is actually pretty cool but there are some… realities about it that make our birthday a little more interesting than others.
1. Having to choose which day to celebrate on non-leap year years
Do you pick the 28th or march 1st? My personal theory is that everyone should feel bad for me for not having a birthday every year so I should get both days ;) That being said, my mom argues that I wasn’t born yet on the 28th so it doesn’t count.
2. Picking a birthday on Facebook
Pick the 29th and it just won’t show up on those years that neglect our birthday! Then on leap years, people who don’t know your birthday reality write on the wrong day!
There are also those websites that just don't recognize the 29th at all. Or on the 28th or March 1st and you go to Sephora or other stores that offer free birthday gifts for members on non-leapyear years and they try to tell you that it isn't your birthday..
3. Leap years are a big f*ing deal!
Not only is your sixteenth birthday a big deal because of obvious reasons, but it's also a leap year! 20 may seem like a minor age to turn for most people, yeah two decades is pretty cool but no its also a "real" birthday year for us leap year babies.
4. That awkward moment when people find out when your birthday is...
Of course there are those few who don’t realize the great significance, but more times than not, the response is along the lines of:
“OMG REALLY?! WOW!”
And you just sit/stand there like “… mhmm yeah craziness!”
One time someone told me:
But aren’t you not aloud to have that birthday? What did you change it to?
5. Those years when you were younger and you learned how to use your leap-day powers:
When I was younger and would play games like Candyland where the youngest would go first, it didn’t matter if I was playing with my younger cousins or not. When I was 8, I was also 2 (because I had only had 2 birthdays). When I’m 60, I will only be 15.
6. This year is a leap year!
Go out and celebrate my fellow birthday twins! Celebrate because after the 29th, we’ve got another 3 years until we have a “real” birthday.
As incredibly sarcastic as this piece was, having a leap-day birthday is really great. And those moments when you find someone else who shares this marvelous birthday with you, it is not only really exciting, but it's pretty awesome as well.
