Once upon time there was a day your parents decided to have a baby for the first time. Voila! Nine months later, you are in your mothers arm. You are welcomed into the new world. As the years go by, everything that you do for the first time is recorded or a picture is taken. There will be times your parents love you so much they just want to be with you all time. Then there will be the times when they don't know what to do with you. Now, I am not trying to say the oldest is the best child, but we do have our perks and flaws that make us stand out differently from our other siblings. Here is a list of my perks and flaws that I have experienced these last 17 (almost 18) years of my life as the oldest sibling.
Here are my flaws as the oldest sibling:
1. You're your parent's guinea pig. They practice discipline, rewards and rules on you.
2. You're a free babysitter. Why hire the neighbor when they got you right?
3. Your siblings take your clothes without asking—it's a sister thing.
4. Everything that you do, your siblings copy. Sometimes being the role model makes them want to be exactly like you.
5. You could never get away with anything, but your younger siblings can do what you couldn't. Turns out, staying out until 9:30 p.m. wasn't so bad after all.
6. You do most of the chores because you need to be taught, "responsibility."
7. Your parents were over protective with you. They always kept you clean and sanitized everything. Currently, my parents let my little brother run around dirty and let him put everything in his mouth. That lenience just gets weaker and weaker through the years (a little bacteria keeps them healthy).
Here are my perks as the oldest sibling:
1. You have the most baby pictures and childhood videos out of all your siblings. #SorryNotSorry
2. You're the role model to your siblings.
3. Everything that you say goes when your parents leave you as Queen B. Yeah that's right, they get to do your chores.
4. Since I was the oldest sibling and the first grand child, I was the most spoiled brat. Which means, you probably were too.
5. Everything you set as an example, motivates your siblings to push themselves to go farther in life.
6. Only you can pick on your siblings, anyone else who does; watch out.
7. You're the first child to be made from your parent's love. You become your parent's first true love (not that Nicholas Sparks kinda love).
There are times I have hated being the oldest sibling. But there has never been a time I have hated it more than I have loved it. For example, I'm the first sibling who gets to leave the house. They're stuck at home with rules that my parents made because of me. As you grow up, being the oldest has helped you become a leader, guardian, and mentor. You watch over your siblings, and as time flies by, you get to see how creepily they can be a lot like you. Embrace being the oldest. You didn't choose the oldest sibling life, it chose you. Life did it for a reason. Don't fight it. Because as stressful as it can be, being the oldest is one of the biggest presents life can give you.
