I was born November 25th, 1997. It was time for me to go to kindergarten and my mom was looking at the cut off date.

In some northeastern states it is sometime in September, but where I'm from in Connecticut at the time I was going to school it was December 31st. So I made the cut off by a month and 6 days. That meant I was usually the youngest. Yes, I went to kindergarten when I was still 4. My parents decided to not hold me back because I was ready for school academically and socially.

To this day, being the youngest is definitely a little bit of a set back for me. I am the youngest out of all my friends that are in the same grade as me!

The first time I noticed that being the youngest really bothered me was when everyone was getting their permit and driver's license. I got mine at least 6 months after everyone else, which in my 16 year old mind really was a big deal. I remember my mom still had to drive me places for a while and that I couldn't drive myself to school when most of my friends did.

The second one I really noticed that being the youngest was hard is now. When most of my friends will be turning 21 within the next year or sometimes sooner. I will only be 21 my senior year of college. This is hard for me because turning 21 is a big milestone and I'll be almost a year behind my friends.

I always feel like I'm the baby of my friends and it doesn't bother my friends, but it does bother me sometimes. I have a friend who is a month older than me, but she's a grade younger. This is because she's from Massachusetts and the cut off was sometimes in September.

Overall, yes, being young does come with some setbacks, but I am truly happy my parents sent me to kindergarten when they did. Not a lot of people can say they started college when they were 17 and that they will have a bachelor's degree when they are 21.

I think when I get older, I will learn to appreciate being the youngest out of my friends.