If you have a birthday between the months of September and December, you qualify as having a "late birthday." Sometimes people even consider August to be a late birthday month. Now, I don't mean you have a late birthday if you are a year older than most people in your grade. In that case most of these problems probably do not apply to you. I mean the people who are still 18 as sophomores in college or those that will still be only 20 going into their senior year of college. They usually hear one of two responses. The first could be, "Oh my gosh you're such a baby!" If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I probably wouldn't have to go to college. The next response is the question "Did you skip a grade?" No, I promise you I didn't, I also promise that we are probably born in the same year, you were just born several months earlier.
Having a late birthday is not that uncommon, and yet most people are always so surprised when they find out. For those that are a year older, I could understand why they are a little shocked that I am two years younger than them for the majority of the year. But being one of the last to celebrate is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you have to watch everyone celebrate their birthdays before you, and nobody likes to wait. This is worse during the years where people are turning 16, 18 or 21, for example, because those are considered significant years. But on the other hand, you are some of the last celebrations of the year, which makes it fun because you are closing out the year on a good note. If you have a birthday in November, like mine, it's during the start of the holiday season, which makes it really easy to get festive.
Another good thing about having a late birthday is that it guarantees you a celebration during the school year, at least while you are pursuing an education. This is great especially during college, because you are surrounded by your friends, which makes it easy to get together and celebrate. There are many good things about the situation, and eventually you get used to being called "super young" or a "baby." In the end it does not really matter that much. Age seems significant now when those of us in school are grouped together by year, but once we enter the real world it becomes less important.
