Only 0.07% of the world will be born on Leap Day — and since it occurs once every four years, Feb. 29 is the rarest day to be born on.
Every calendar year has exactly 365 days, the time it takes Earth to orbit around the sun, but it takes Earth a little over that amount to fully make it around the sun. Since it is not a perfect number, every four years the world changes the calendar year to 366 days. We do this as a way to make up for the time we skipped over in other years and if we didn’t it would lead to complications in seasons and scheduling.
With nicknames such as “Leap Day babies,” many of us do not know many people born on this day. However, Maddie Brock, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, is one of these 5 million people who finds her day to be unique, but also, what she said, a little difficult.
“This year I will be turning 20, but technically this will be my fifth actual birthday. It’s always a little hard when it’s not a Leap Year because celebrating my birthday can be weird because some people celebrate on February 28 while others do March 1,” Brock said. “I typically celebrate on March 1, because then I will actually be a year older.”
With leap year only occurring every four years, Brock tries to make Feb. 29 as special as she can. She said, as this is her first year celebrating her actual birthday in college, away from family and hometown friends, she wants to make it memorable with the people she considers family.
“Every year I do something for my birthday, but when it is a year with my actual day in it, the celebration just feels more special. I feel like I do things that are typical when it comes to birthdays like getting dinner with friends, and just enjoying each other’s company,” Brock said. “Although this year I am hoping to do something a little bigger as it’s my first time in college celebrating on the actual day.”
Rylie Morrill, a sophomore in the College of Education, met Brock this year, but was not surprised to find out she was a leap year baby, as it completely suits her.
“I just met Maddie this year through some mutual friends and from the minute I met her I knew there was something unique about. She just has this fun, loving energy that is different from anyone else’s,” Morrill said. “When I found out she was a leap year baby, it kind of just all fell into place and it’s always a fun joke to tell her she’s the smartest 4-year-old I know.”
Not only is Brock apart of the 5 million people born on Leap Day, but she is also in the 4% of people actually born on their due date.
“My due date was actually the exact day I was born, which I know is rare, but I think it’s even cooler that it just happened to be leap day,” Brock said. “My parents had no intention of having a Leap Year baby, it just happened to be the day I was born.”
As a leap year baby, Brock’s parents do not see her any differently than anyone else her age, even if she has only had 5 actual birthdays.
“To us she is no different than anyone else her age, her being born on leap day was just a complete coincidence. Even though that was her due date, we never thought she would actually come on that day,” Brenda Brock, Madeline’s mother, said. “It’s honestly just a unique randomness, but the day completely suits her as someone who is a special individual.”
Overall, being a leap day baby is something rare and unique that not many people can attest to, but Brock has learned to love the uniqueness of the day, even with the jokes of not even being a teenager yet.
“It’s always a running joke about how I’m not even double digits yet, but I am in college,” Madeline said. “Sometimes celebrating my birthday can be a little tricky, but I have learned to love the uniqueness of the day and when leap year does come around, it always makes things a little more special.”
This story was written by Lauren Puthoff. She can be reached at [email protected].
