My first reaction to people telling me that they don't have any siblings is literally, "oh wow, I'm sorry". It took me awhile to realize that I was probably extending sympathy to people who didn't know that they needed it. I just honestly think that people who had to grow up without brothers and sisters were (are) seriously missing out. There are six of us kids in my family, and while yes, that does mean that people eyeball my parents like they're crazy and that someone's always drinking the last of the milk and putting the empty carton back in the fridge, I count them all as blessings. There is never, ever a dull moment in my house, and I credit my siblings with helping to shape who I am today. Here are 5 different ways that siblings shape who you are as a person.
1. They help you form thick skin.
Look, if you're going to survive in a big family, you have got to learn to take a joke. There is absolutely no room for sensitivity when you have older siblings. We will roast you until the day you die. Some of my fondest memories of my siblings are some of their worst nightmares come true, and you better believe that I bring these incidents up constantly. For example, one time one of my brothers had a severe allergic reaction to mangoes that left his mouth broken out in nasty blisters and his lips the size of grapefruits. Guess who still side eyes said brother every time mango flavored anything is in sight? This chick. As cruel as it sounds, constant berating from your siblings teaches you not to take yourself so seriously. It's OK to laugh off a joke completely intended to rip you to shreds; you're used to much worse.
2. They teach you to pull your own weight- and everyone else's.
On any kind of team, there's going to be that one person that never seems to be able to keep up with their workload. So many times in your life you're going to have to pick up someone else's slack, and that's okay. That's just how things go sometimes. When you have siblings, you've grown up having to do jobs that weren't originally yours. An enormous attitude may have been caught while you were doing said job, but you still did it. As annoying as this can be at times, it teaches you how to put yourself aside for the good of the group.
3. They accustom you to constant companionship, but also help you learn to appreciate solitude.
Whenever I need to go anywhere or run any kind of errand, there's alway someone who wants to go with me. No matter how mind numbing the task may be (hello post office run), I always have at least one other person in tow. it's kind of nice since I tend to talk to myself when I'm shopping, and when I have another person with me it kind of makes me look less crazy. But I digress. Always having someone with you is nice, but it's this very thing that makes you realize how nice it is to be alone. After constantly being surrounded by people, not being surrounded by people becomes a kind of rare treat. You love 'em, but you also love to be without 'em. On the occasion.
4. They teach you how to get along with a variety of personalities.
My siblings and I are all extremely different from one another. Some of us are more introverted, while the others are raging extroverts. We have math brains and artsy brains and everything in between. Consequently, it's impossible to interact the same way with all of them. The siblings that like to go cliff jumping are not the same ones who want to stay home and make cookies. In order to spend quality time with each one of them, you have to meet them on their level. This helps later on in life when you need to effectively communicate with people on all ends of the personality spectrum.
5. They don't let you grow up to be self-centered.
I'm about to say something that might offend some people... but it's true. Brace yourselves. Only Child Syndrome is a real thing. There are actually self absorbed people walking around on this planet with you who expect everything to go their way, simply because they didn't have brothers and sisters to knock it out of them. Sometimes literally. This obviously isn't true in a lot of cases, I've met tons of only children who are perfectly lovely individuals. But hear me out. Whether you have 1 sibling or 10, you'll learn that the world does not revolve around you. You'll learn that it's more important to look out for the person next to you than the one in the mirror. You'll learn that you can't always get what you want and that's OK.
In closing; be grateful for those little brats. Thank your lucky stars that your sister stole your clothes and your brother popped the heads off of your Barbies. You're a better person because of it! Promise.
