Math teacher Breanne Morton is 28 years old, but has only been able to celebrate her actual day of birth seven times. Today, Feb. 29, marks what she, her friends and her students like to “joke around about” as her seventh birthday.

Morton was born in a leap year, causing the date of her birthday to appear on calenders only every four years. Although she has technically only had seven birthdays, her family always made a point of celebrating the start of a new year of her life on Feb. 28. Growing up, this is did not confuse Morton. “I understood,” she said. Morton even had a classmate who shared her special day.

“I guess it’s kinda cool because it’s something that’s different,” Morton said. “Even in the years when I don’t have a birthday people find it intriguing because I don’t actually have a birthday. And it’s just special.”

Morton has been a teacher at AHS for the past four years and teaching for six years in total. Today is her second time having a real birthday while teaching.

“I feel like my students always make it really special,” Morton said. “[They] find it funny when I tell them how old I am in leap [years] because then they’re like ‘Oh, I’m older than my teacher.'”

Morton started off the day with Starbucks from her friends, and continued it with flowers from her parents and a serenade and cake from her students and the math department. By the time the bell rung at the end of the school day, Morton was able to say, “I had a wonderful birthday this year.”