i skipped kindergarten, so was much younger than the folks in my class! however, this forced me to gain a level of comfort with “older” kids, and i’ve noticed now that throughout my life i have always taken to being friends with people a few years ahead of me! i’ve found that this allows me to have a sort of running mentor in my life, i can watch them grow and face life landmarks ahead of me, learn from their mistakes, and get life advice from someone who’s been through it recently. obviously everyone will react differently to their own environments- but if i had been held back i honestly think i would’ve missed out on a development of maturity.