Growing up as the youngest of four siblings, I quickly figured out that my place in the family lineup is honestly the best. Even if I had to endure years of being forced to wear awful hand-me-down sweaters and being a slave to your older siblings, I wouldn't have had it any other way! Being the youngest sibling has shaped me into the person I am today and here are a few reasons why this role in the family lineup far surpasses the others:
1. You have built in bodyguards from day one.
As the youngest, you always have someone (or lucky for me, three someones!) who is watching your back and ready to take care of you when you need it. My siblings have always been protective of me and wanted the best for me and were willing to step on a few toes for me in order to ensure I am treated well.
2. You always got to hang out with the cooler, older kids when you were younger.
Just because you were friends with the older kids, automatically made you cool in elementary school. You always picked up on the trends and jokes of the older kids from hanging around them so often.
3. By the time you reached your teenage years, your parents had loosened up on most of the rules your older siblings had.
What was once a rule for your older brother and sister, probably sounds absolutely ridiculous to you now. Eventually, your parents won't care enough to nag at you the way they did to your siblings when they were your age.
4. You learned from your older sibling's mistakes.
You saw your siblings go through the good, the bad, and the ugly so you know exactly what to avoid from their own experiences.
5. You have a built-in best friend.
No one to hang out with? No worries, you have your sister or brother in the next room over to watch reality TV with all day long.
6. You have developed a good sense of humor.
Being the youngest, you have to learn to deal with being at the center of almost every joke or prank in the house. Eventually, you learn to deal with this by joking back with them, giving you a great sense of humor.
7. For years, your siblings had to drive you around and take care of you.
...I'm a little sorry for this one, but it was nice while it lasted.
8. And even though the majority of those hand-me-downs were ugly, sometimes you got some really cool stuff passed down to you.
Occasionally your siblings would give something up that was actually really valuable because they wanted to give you something special.
So, no matter where you fall in the lineup in your family, just remember that every role has it's unique privileges and to appreciate the role you have for what it is. The most important thing to remember is how having siblings gives you one of the most amazing support systems around. Personally, I believe that being the youngest is the best, but hey - I once got locked in a trash can and rolled down the stairs by my older siblings so maybe it's not everything I cracked it up to be.
