As someone who has been the middle child for a little over 15 years, I've picked up a thing or two along the way. I even learned a few things from my parents, who are actually both middle children themselves. I'm not saying it's hard being the middle child, but there are some clear challenges and perks of not being the youngest, but also not being the oldest.
You're kind of the forgotten sibling.
Let's face it, everyone who is a middle child can attest that they are forgotten most of the time. Whether it be around the house or at large gatherings, people will be surprised to see you, even if they already saw you that day. However, this can work in your favor, as you can fly under the radar and avoid any situation within reason.
You went through the worst rebellious stage.
Your older sibling(s) may have had their rebellious stage, but yours was hardcore. You thought everything was unfair and wanted to make your own rules from the get-go. If you're like me, you cut your hair really short and bleached it. For others, it might be hanging out with certain people. Either way, you did something to make yourself stand out against your sibling(s).
You're always called your sibling's names before yours.
This one kind of goes along with #1. Growing up, I remembered my mom listing off my brother's and sister's names before getting to mine if she was mad or needed me. If it's a family member, like a grandparent, you've probably got ten or so names before they get to yours.
Your sibling's friends were some of your first friends.
This is especially true if your older sibling(s) is not significantly older than you. They may have hated it, but you thought it was so cool how they were allowed to have their friends over when you were younger. You always tried to join in on them, otherwise, you'd have to hang out with your younger sibling(s), which was the last thing you wanted to do.
You most likely had to share a room.
This is still true to this day. Since birth, you've probably shared a room with any sibling at one point. For this reason specifically, I don't think I could ever have a single dorm at school, solely because I don't know what it feels like to live without someone. One of the best perks of sharing a room was the bunk bed if you were lucky enough to have one.
Most of your clothes were hand-me-downs.
You'd get bags from your older sibling(s), your cousins, your aunts/uncles, anyone who had clothes to give away would give them to you first. For that reason, birthdays and Christmas were the best solely because you got brand new clothes that no one in your family had worn before.
You're always the mediator of fights.
Since you're right in the middle (quite literally), you most likely had to be the problem solver for a lot of disputes. Many times it was not helpful, but at least you were there to try and diffuse the situation.
You were involved in a lot of your older sibling's activities.
Anything from sports to extracurricular activities, you and your sibling(s) were involved in the same things. Personally, my older sister and I were gymnasts for years in the same class and worked on one musical together. I'll never know why we were thrown into gymnastics together, but have one extracurricular together was a lot of fun. Girl Scouts was another one, that we did together. We weren't in the same troop, but we did a lot of events together, so she was really never away from me until she left for college.
People who aren't middle children themselves just don't get it.
Being a middle child is something only a middle child can explain. We can't just show someone how it is to live as not quite the oldest, but not quite the youngest. The oldest never understand while the youngest has a bit of an idea. Only children will just never understand. It's a lifestyle that only the strongest can survive.
Even though we may complain, we always have someone younger to pick on and someone older to look up to, and I wouldn't change being a middle child for the world.
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