10 Things You Know to Be True Growing Up With a Big Family | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Relationships

10 Things You Know to Be True Growing Up With a Big Family

No one else could understand like you all do.

89
10 Things You Know to Be True Growing Up With a Big Family
WordPress

Whether you're the oldest sibling, the baby, or somewhere in the middle, there are just some experiences that you're only going to have if you grew up with a big family. If you've ever been to a friend's house who has only one or two siblings, you'll realize how much more complicated your home life can be! Between family parties, grocery shopping, doing chores, and sitting around a dinner table—there's really nothing like it! Here's a quick list of how growing up in a big family can be so different:

1. Whose Shirt is This?

When you have a bunch of siblings who share your style or size, clothing can be pretty much a free-for-all. You're always borrowing bags, cardigans, or those shoes while they're not wearing them, and you've probably inherited a piece or two from someone around the table. This can be crazy when clothes have to be put away, but it can also be a real saving grace when your sister has just the right outfit-completer you need.


2. Peace and Quiet?

Chances are, if you come from a big family (especially of the Italian variety) quiet is saved for the few moments when most of the family is out of the house, or the few moments after somebody tells a bad joke at the dinner table. With your family around, you've learned to embrace the noise you all make when you're together, and appreciate the quiet whenever it comes.

3. Two Words: Dinner Time!

This can be a crazy ordeal. One (or both) of your parents probably work tirelessly to get a big enough meal on the table, and (hopefully) it's very well appreciated! You might feel the need to scramble to get enough on your plate before everyone else (or have a crazy little brother that does this) but the love around the table is like nothing else. And the kitchen gets a full SWAT team after dinner is over, so the whole kitchen can get all clean!

4. Friends? More like Family!

Making friends are good, but bring them over the house, and they'll get to meet everybody, and leave with at least 5 more friends. In my house at least, a friend to one family member is a friend to everybody, so there's plenty of friends and friendship to go around.

5. Whose Birthday is it this month?

On the first of every month, that's probably the first thing that enters your mind—who has a birthday coming up? Bigger families typically have more birthdays, which of course means, more cake!

6. Every Car is a Clown Car.

Going to Church, going to a concert, going anywhere—you've probably made the joke (or heard it) dozens of times! How you fit everybody into one vehicle (or two!) is a miracle!

7. Laundry Day or Laundry Week?

Lots of people means lots of clothes, which also means lots of laundry! Whether you take turns, or team up, every big family has a system for tackling this seemingly endless chore.

8. Where's the Remote?!

Or, a better question, who has it? One person watching TV means everybody's watching TV, so make it good, and don't be a hog.

9. Neighborhood Name

The whole neighborhood might not know all of you, but chances are, everybody around knows one of you. You wear your last name with pride, and feel like the richest one in town.

10. Family Trips

Are the craziest thing ever! You probably have packing down to a science, with all sorts of tricks to saving space in the suitcase, and the car. But by the time you manage to get everyone away together, get ready for the time of your life!

AND:

11. Endless love

Whether things are bad, or doing great, there's nothing like having fam at your side to share it with you! Big families are a LOT of work, but you know at the end of the day that you wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2017
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1258
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

392
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1800
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments