It's not just about getting better privileges

It's something that as child, I hated because I didn't want to share. It's something as a teenager, that I questioned what I was thinking when I asked for a little sister and brother. Now, as a young adult, it's something I'm very thankful for. It took several years for me to realize that there was some good in having a younger sister and brother, but now that I have, I will gladly tell why it is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

1. It serves as an incentive for you to be the bigger person

This isn't something that realized immediately, especially when you were all young, and ready to kill each other over a toy, or fighting over who gets to sit in the front seat, or fighting over who is the 'favorite'. As all of us who have siblings know, most of the sibling relationship consists of fighting, no matter what it's over. However, for me, even though I have had my fair share or arguments with my sister and brother, it has now become a "fight to be the best that I can be", not for me, but for them. Being the oldest has given me the ability to be more mature and think ahead about the things that I do, because I know that what I do, or don't do, will come back on my siblings. I don't know that it is the same for everyone, but I hope that it is, because once you have someone to set a good example for, you are much more likely to do the right thing. Many decisions I have made in the past have been based off of the question, "how will this affect my family's reputation?", more specifically, what effects will this have on my sister and brother. In short, being the oldest sibling, to me at least, is about being the one to learn from, and if they are a good example, hopefully the one they will follow.

2. It makes you cherish their youth

Take it from me: you do not realize how important the first few years in someone's life are, until they are long gone. This goes not only for you, but for those around you, particularly your siblings. I cannot tell you how saddened I am sometimes, when I look at my little brother and see how much he has grown. Being the mature young-adult that I am today, I look at him, and I wish he was still a baby, because when he was a baby, I did not care at all. I look at him, and my sister, especially now that I'm away at school, and wish that I could have cared more than I did. I wish now that could have thought about the things that I said, and the way that it affected them. I wish that I would've taken the time out of my pre-teen life to make better memories with them than we have now. After years of growing up with each other, it has taken me until now to realize how important those first several years were and I have learned to cherish them now more than ever.

3. It guarantees you someone when you need them, or when they need you

If your family is anything like mine, you will have gotten the "family's all you've got", or "Your siblings are all you've got once I'm gone" more times than you can count. Even though it seems stupid now, it rings true. Your siblings are like the friends you were born with, the friends who are guaranteed to stick by you until the end of time, but only if you let them. When you can't tell your parents something, you tell your sibling. When you accidently break that vase, it's a secret that you and you siblings take to your grave. And it goes the other way as well, when your younger sister or brother needs advice, they come to you. When they need anything they can't ask the parents, they come to you. It's a something of a symbiotic relationship, you help them, they help you. In short, while your family is important, your siblings are extremely important, because they are who you were meant to go through life with, not only that, but as the oldest, your job is not only to go through it with them, but to guide them.