I'm the oldest child in my family. I have a sister three years younger than me and a brother that's eight years younger than me. Being the oldest isn't easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way because my brother and sister are two the most important people in my life. Anyone that knows me can vouch for that statement.
1. You are parental. It's just the way it is.
You have grown up taking care of your younger siblings whether it was babysitting them or letting them vent to you. This characteristic doesn't leave and it tends to be why you are considered the "mom" or "dad" of your friend group. It's also probably why you are prepared for literally anything and have just about everything anyone could need at any given moment.
2. If there's a substantial age difference, people think your sibling is your child.
This has happened to me far too many times. My little brother is much younger than I am so whenever I went to the fair or somewhere else with just him, I would at least be asked once if he was my kid. I would always roll my eyes and just sigh and tell them that no, he's my little brother.
3. You know you're the role model for your siblings.
Our younger siblings look up to us. They want to be like us. To them, we are superstars and they want to make us proud. Sometimes they follow in our footsteps and play the same position in sports or sometimes it's just in their mannerisms and we can see bits and pieces of ourselves shining through them. It's actually a really incredible thing. That also makes it so much harder when we mess up. It's like we are letting them down.
4. Chances are, one of your siblings is also your best friend.
My brother and I are so similar it isn't even funny. He might only be ten (11 in October) but I swear, he has my vocabulary and my sarcasm, which is not a good thing. A child should not have my level of sarcasm. My brother will always be one of my best friends because he's such an incredible kid. My sister is pretty great, too.
5. You've been told you and your siblings could be twins.
Either that or they think a picture of your sibling is you. You have no idea how many times my friends exclaim, "You and your sister are twins!" or "Are you sure that's not you? She looks just like you." Yeah, no. My sister and I look alike, but there is no way that we are twins. Although I can't deny how much we look alike because there have been moments where I think, "Holy crap. I thought that was a picture of me," when looking at a picture of my sister. But still, she's not my twin.
6. You have so much faith in your siblings it isn't even funny.
You attend every game and award ceremony you can and you are always cheering louder than anyone else. It's just the way it is. You want them to succeed so much and when they do, you are so incredibly proud. Even in the times where they feel like they didn't do well, you are still cheering them on and making them feel better and assuring them that they will kill it next time.
7. You let them make fun of you just because you love them.
My sarcastic little brother just loves to tease me and he's does a good job of it. He's always teasing me and cracking jokes at my expense and I let him because I love him so much. His favorite joke is saying, "Guess what? You're a midget." Then he starts laughing hysterically and I can't help but join in because laughter is contagious. (This is the picture where he made me be shorter than him so I was a midget...)
8. You either love little kids or hate them. There's no in-between.
Personally, I love little kids and all my sibling's friends like me and think I'm fun. However, I know plenty of older siblings that can't stand children younger than them unless it's their own siblings.
9. You would do anything for your siblings.
Sometimes this is waking up early to do your sister's hair for her even though you know she will just throw it up in a ponytail as soon as you are done or reading a book to your brother for the thousandth time because it's his favorite and you are the only one that can do the voices right. (I could probably recite "Skippy-Jon-Jones: Lost In Spice" in my sleep).
10. You constantly tell your friends funny stories about your little brother or sister.
There's always a story to be told and you tend to talk about your siblings a lot (especially if you have been away from them for a long time). I talk about my brother and sister all the time and I'm sure my friends might get a little tired of hearing about them, but I just love my siblings too much to not talk about them.
11. You are VERY protective of your siblings.
If anyone hurts your siblings, they have you to answer to and they won't be happy about having to deal with you. You can mess and tease your siblings, but as soon as someone else, all hell breaks loose. Trust me, I would know. I almost got in a fight with a girl that bullying my little sister. And I've never thrown a punch in my life, but I was close. Boy, was I close.
12. You love your siblings more than anything and couldn't imagine life without them.
Your siblings mean more to you than anything and you can't even begin to think of what life would be like if they weren't in your life. They mean everything to you and whether you say it enough or not, you want them to know that you love them with your whole heart and are so happy to have them in your life, even though there are times where they can be a really big pain.
