I have 2 sisters, one older and one younger. I am 3 years younger than the older one, and 5 years older than the younger one. Growing up being the middle child of same sex siblings was anything but a walk in the park.
1. I am always third wheeling
From the second my younger sister was born, my older sister thought she was her personal baby doll. They dressed up in matching outfits for any family outing. This made taking pictures with them pretty uncomfortable.
2. Hand-me-downs are all too familiar.
Shopping for new clothes is a foreign concept to any middle child. I was rocking clothes that were considered last season years ago. But with the resurfacing of trends these days, I'm the most fashionable person I know.
3. I commonly am forgotten about.
I get called my older sisters name and then my younger sisters name (and sometimes one of my cousins names) before my parents FINALLY figure out who I am. Like you guys literally named me, how can you forget my name so easily?
4. Nothing is that exciting the second time around.
When my sister got into college, there was a cake and even some tears. When I got into the same college, I forwarded the email to my parents and my dad responded "good job, but you can do better". Yeah.
5. I was always the scape goat.
When my sisters and I would get in fights, my parents never had to ask who started it, they automatically assumed it was me. Even if I wasn't home for the time of the fight, it was still my fault. "Who stole my shoes?". Yes indeed. I did steal your shoes. We are not the same size by any means but I just wanted to steal your shoes for fun!
6. I bond with other middle children.
Nothing brings me closer with other people than finding out that they are middle children also. Comparing middle child syndrome symptoms is one of my favorite past times. "Oh your parents forgot about your 16th birthday? Well my parents took everyone out to dinner for my birthday and forgot to invite me..." (yes, that is a true story).
7. I get to choose teams.
My older sister and I gang up on my little sister because we think she has things MUCH easier than we did. I mean, she is 15 years old and still has her bed made for her every morning. And she had a nicer phone than me when she was 10 (I repeat, 10). My younger sister and I gang up on my older sister for being a boring grown up (commence tears as she reads that I just called her a grown up). I got picked on, but they never really had anything to gang up on me for.
8. I get one of each.
What's worse than 1 little sister? 2 little sisters. I'm only kidding (kind of). But seriously, I get both an older sister to look up to and a little sister to set an example for. When I need advice, I have my older sister to go to. And when I need a laugh, I have my little sister to go to.
9. I get the full story.
I'm not that far away (age-wise) from either of my sisters. So, they never felt the need to sensor their stories when telling me. I got to hear about my older sisters first kiss and I was envious of her maturity. And I got to hear about my little sisters first kiss and I threw up in my mouth a bit. Even though I'm touched that she feels comfortable enough to tell me, she's still a baby in my eyes.
10. The cream is the best part of the Oreo.
I got to watch my older sister do all the things that I could only imagine doing one day. And I got to watch my little sister grow up doing these things. I have very different relationships with each of my sisters that they just don't have with each other. I get to share clothes with each of them. I get to share secrets with each of them. And, I get 2 best friends that (no matter how hard they try) can't escape me!
I wrote a paper about the effects of Middle Child Syndrome when I was in 5th grade. If my 5th grade self could have seen that I wrote this article and it ended on a positive note, she would have laughed.
