Would you?

Would you be the same person today if you were born one day earlier or one day later?

 

Isn't this some version of the Butterfly Effect? If we are the sum of the choices we've made in life—the little ones and big ones—then doesn't it stand to reason that something as simple as altering your birth by 24 hours could have a profound effect? Your parents encounter different people in the hospital or different drivers on the road. Your 6th birthday lands on a Tuesday instead of a Monday so your parents want to have your party the weekend after instead of the weekend before. Maybe you connect with (or fail to connect with) someone because of your birthday and that leads you down a different road.

I swear I'm not high...

 

RickStain would.

 

If moving the date made it fall on a particular day or moved you to a different sign of the zodiac, then I think it could affect how you think of yourself. I don't place much value in astrology, but a lot of people do.

I'm glad my birthday isn't near any major holiday. Christmas time birthday people get jobbed on the gifts. I've always loved where my birthday falls in late June. It was always right after school got out, so people were in good moods and optimistic about the summer. If my birthday fell on, say, Valentine's Day like my grandfather and nephew, I think it would create weirdness.

 

If I was born one day later, I would have to write my age in Roman numerals, just like the other thing born on that day: The Super Bowl.

 

My birthday will sometimes land on Labor Day which is awesome because I get a three-day weekend depending right before or right after to celebrate. Mrs. Spartan, on the other hand, has her birthday the same week as Christmas which always makes planning a celebration awkward.

 

I don't think one day matters, unless you were born Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. Obviously the year of your birth changes everything.

 

It could matter if you were born say Sept. 1 and the cutoff for starting school was Aug. 31. It would mean you start school a year later, have a different group of friends and be the oldest kid in the class instead of the youngest.

 

I'd be another day older and deeper in debt.

 

Especially if you're a horse.

 

How to build a champion: Be born at the right time