My birth day is December 2, 1997. This means that if I was born a day after in my school district, I would be an entire grade below the one I’m in right now. Yes I graduated high schooland began college at the measly age of 17. I always think about how different my life would be. I would probably have a different group of friends, maybe be going to a different school, might have played different sports -- basically a bunch of stuff that thoroughly defines who I am would most likely not be the same. One thing I do know for sure, however, is that others who are much younger than the people in their grade feel some sort of special bond and connection due to the struggles of being a “young 'un” (or maybe it's just me). So here -- for my fellow late- birthday babies, are a few struggles we all know too well.
1. You watched all your friends as they zipped around town with
their brand new driver’s licenses.
Since they still had to wait a year to actually drive you
around, you always arrived to Chipotle fashionably late in your mom’s minivan.
2. You made sure you voted as soon as you turned 18 -- just
because now you can.
You lapped some of your older friends in the registering to vote phase. Whether this was you truly expressing your civil, patriotic duty, or just the fact that you finally had the ability, you made sure to vote because you could.
3. You’ve acquired quite the collection of interesting -- at times, even disturbing --nicknames.
"L'il..." "Baby..." "Young 'un..." and, of course, the most disturbing of all -- "fetus" (shudders).
4. You are constantly asked if you skipped a grade.
As much as I would like to answer this with a proud "yes," it's a no -- my mom just wanted to kick me out of the house at a younger age."
5. You watch impatiently as all your friends begin to trade out their horizontal licenses for vertical.
Friend: I'm so excited for junior year when we all turn 21!
Me: Hah. Ya. Same...
6. You find a hint of satisfaction when you out-do the older kids in your grade.
"You were walking and crying before I was even born and I got a better mile time that you!" (More relevant in the years of middle school.)
7. You're patient as heck.
Not by choice.
8. What gets you by is knowing you'll still be in your 30s when everyone else is getting old.
Even if it's just a year, you still get to cherish being a hot 39 year old when your friends all turn 40 (we take what we can get).
9. You watch those in the grade you're supposed to be in go through all the different things you had to go through, and thank God you're done with them.
ACT/SAT, college apps -- even prom.
10. You still feel much more mature than the kids in the grade below you, despite some of them even being older.
It's about the experiences.
I sometimes ask my parents why they decided to start me at such a young age. My dad's go-to response is, "I wanted you to have the option to take a year off when you were 22, as opposed to four." I can't imagine how different my life would be, but I'm thankful that I am where I am.
