Whether you’re lounging out at the pool, tanning in the sun or have your head burrowed studying for a crucial unit test, students’ birthdays are an exciting day. However, having a summer birthday versus a birthday during the school year creates a drastically different experience, and gives birth to debate among students.

Since the school year takes up the majority of the calendar year, most students have their birthday while school is in session. The obvious downside of that is the likelihood of rigorous coursework, tests and responsibilities on a day that should be full of celebration. Senior Ryan Kaufman has his birthday during the school year. “It can be hard to focus and complete your work when all you’re thinking about is going home to celebrate with your family,” Kaufman said.

However, some students make an effort to relax a little bit academically on their special day. Junior Sofia Sossa celebrated her birthday earlier this month on Thursday, Mar. 13, “I paid attention in class but I was able to ease off a little bit and not take things quite as seriously,” Sossa said.

After-school extracurricular activities can also take up a lot of the student’s day, causing a delay in celebration. “I had after-school activities that took up most of the day so I didn’t really have any time to myself at home,” Sossa said.

Summer birthdays come with downsides as well, and not getting to see all your friends is one of them. Senior Kyle Fuster was born in July and recognizes that a lot of his closest friends are often on vacation.
That being said, Fuster has found ways to work around this issue by celebrating earlier in the summer. “If there is less people around because of summer vacation I can do something a little bigger with the friends that are still around,” Fuster said.

Fuster feels like a summer birthday is still an overall positive thing. “I really love having a summer birthday because of the weather and being able to do whatever. If you have a birthday on a Tuesday with school you are limited but a Tuesday in the summer you can still do things,” Fuster said.

Students with birthdays during the school year see the upside in their situation too. One positive is that friends are around to celebrate. “I like having my birthday during a school day because I get to see all my friends and a lot of people wish me happy birthday. I don’t know if I would have that experience with a summer birthday,” Sossa said.

Perhaps the winning formula is a late summer birthday so that you don’t have classes, but still have plenty of friends in the area. Senior Naima Cho-Khaliq’s birthday is Aug. 24, which typically falls right before the start of the school year. “Usually people are home to celebrate since it’s the end of summer. I also like the weather a lot,” Cho-Khaliq said.

Ultimately, it seems that students are able to find joy in their birthday regardless of the time of year, and they seem to favor the birthday experience they are used to. “I prefer a summer birthday for sure because otherwise I’d be in school,” Cho-Khaliq said.