Being the youngest among two older siblings was rough. OK, not really. It wasn't all that bad. Older siblings seem to always say that their little sister or brother is/was a brat, who gets whatever they want. Another claim could be that little siblings are dramatic about everything. So, to play my part of the dramatic little sister, I have put together a list of the "struggles" youngest siblings go through on a daily basis.
1. Your favorite dress or toy was your older siblings favorite dress or toy, first.
Hand-me-downs are bittersweet. As the youngest sibling, you get tons of stuff for free from your older brother/sister, but it is nice to have something brand new every once in a while. Older siblings will always remind you that something was theirs first and that they "wore it better" if it is a piece of clothing. (I still think I looked better in that Lion King dress!)
2. You never get to ride "shotgun" in the car.
No matter how fast you run to the car, the youngest sibling will never get the front seat. Well, there are those special occasions when you get to go alone somewhere with someone, but that rarely happens. After a while, you just get used to it.
3. If you shared a room and had bunk beds, you were always on bottom.
There was nothing better than sleeping on the top bunk. Well, I assume there is nothing better than sleeping on the top bunk. Younger siblings wouldn't know because we never got to choose. It was like some rule that the older sibling automatically got the top bunk.
4. If you get up from your chair, that is now your sibling's chair.
If you take your older sibling's chair, it's the end of the world. If they do it to you, it's perfectly fine. Your parents seem to always side with your older brother/sister. If your parents do make your sibling get up and let you have the seat, your brother/sister will definitely make you regret it later.
5. Your older siblings always got to stay up a lot later than you did.
If you were too "uncool" and "annoying" to hang out around your older siblings at night, you know the struggle of having to lay in bed wide awake, hearing them have fun in another room. The endless amounts of fun your siblings must be having without you was horrible.
6. You were expected to do as well as your older siblings.
If your older siblings excelled in academics or a certain sport, you were expected to do well, also. You soon realized that everyone is different and each person has their own talents, but the little expectations were still there. That was OK though because it gave you a lot of motivation most of the time.
7. Your parents call you every name except yours.
When your parents are needing your help with something, they never fail to call your name last. When they get really mad, you may be called the wrong name multiple times before they eventually get down the line to yours.
8. It's easier to blame things on you.
Your older siblings seem to always know what to say. They've had years to perfect their games and tricking ways. It's never fair when you get blamed for something that they did. And even if you did do it, they most likely tricked you into doing it.
9. If your siblings didn't want to do something, you usually got weaseled into doing it for them.
Empty. Promises. Your siblings would always promise to do something for you if you did a favor for them first. Of course it never happened. You would think you'd catch on at some point, but that never happened either.
10. You don't get to chose the music in the car.
You could never sit in the front seat, and you could never chose the music to listen to, either. Your older sibling would say you can chose the next song, but that never was true. Every once in a while, there would be a song that everyone would like and could jam out to. Those rare moments were the best.
11. You have always been known as _____'s little brother/sister.
Even as an adult in college, I still get called "Sara's little sister" or "Kylie's little sister" on the daily by their old friends. Some things just never change. It's so weird when someone asks if you're related to your older sibling when they've never met you before. When all of your siblings look so similar, it just eventually becomes a normal thing.
