OK summer babies, where you at?! You know who you are! I’m talking May, June, July, August and early September babies. There is a certain struggle of being born in these specific months, and if you were born in one of these months, you know what I’m talking about.
Being born in these months mean you are literally the last ones who get to celebrate the big birthday milestones. I’m a June birthday, so I’m constantly labeled the ‘baby’ in most of my friend groups. (Though I do have friends with birthdays after me- yikes!)
In Iowa, we are allowed to drive with parents at age 14. So while all of my friends were getting practice driving with their parents, I was still stuck in the backseat. And the next big milestone? 16. Sweet, sweet 16. This is that hallowed age where you are allowed to drive without your parents. Yes, I was that friend who mooched rides off of my friends for a whole school year until I finally turned 16 in June.
And then we go another two years, until the next milestone comes along, 18. Adulthood. It’s kind of crazy though, because 18 at this age, you’re technically still a teenager, but yet it’s the year we officially call ourselves adults. The word itself even says that’s not right: eight-teen. Weird. Anyways, this age is pretty awesome besides the fact that we are officially “adults.” At 18, we are allowed to vote. The mere fact that we have some say in who runs our city, county, state, and nation is pretty rewarding. But at age 18 we are also allowed to buy tobacco products. I’ll never forget the summer I, myself, turned 18. It was the summer before we all headed off to college. Most of my friends had been 18 for a while, and I, on the other hand, had just turned 18. We would buy cigars just because we could, and would sit around smoking them thinking we were the coolest people ever. Oh, how I miss those days…
Which brings me to present day. I’m currently 20 years old. It’s currently January. Which means that I have approximately five months until my 21st birthday. This might possibly the hardest time to be the baby of the group. (Or it could possibly be the best time, depending on how you spin it.) This year I have celebrated with several friends turning 21. And with it only being January, this means several more friends turning 21 as well. In January alone, I have four friends turning 21. FOUR. It’s going to be a fun month. But regardless, turning 21 brings a couple of things: being able to legally buy a drink, and being able to legally buy a lottery ticket.
So while 21 is the last of the milestone birthdays (well, let’s just say for a while…) being the last to turn these fun ages brings both good and bad. So, while I do have to wait my turn to celebrate, I get the opportunity to celebrate with all of my friends, share in the happiness and good memories, and be a part of their big days. Which in turn, is truly the only thing that matters.
