Being the oldest sibling is by far one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. In a way, being the oldest sibling is like being the experiment for your parents and ultimately becoming a parent to your younger siblings. I have two younger siblings and I view them as my children. Being that they are only a few years younger than me, this seems odd to most people. When you think about it though, I have been there for them since they were born, watched them take their first steps, and start their first day of school.

It all started when my parents got divorced, I was the oldest child so it became my job to figure out which parent we were with for the weekend and how we were getting there. In my eyes, it was also my job to protect my siblings from hearing my parents fight or saying negative things about each other. It has been over a decade since my parents split and I still will not let my siblings over hear any family drama. It is my job to protect them.

It is also my job to guide them and help them. If they have a problem or need advice, they can always come to me. If they feel like they can't go to our mother with something, they come to me. If they ever needed a ride home from a party or got into trouble, I would assume they would come to me. It is part of my job in this older sister/parent role I have created for myself. My siblings have become my kids in a sense. I have watched them grow up into the amazing young adults that they have become and I would like to think that I have helped them get there.

When people ask me if I plan on having children in the future, I always say no. From my point of view, I have already helped raise two children. I have been there through the terrible twos and the lovely hormonal teenage years. I have done a fine job helping my mother raise my siblings and I am proud to say that i influenced them. I love them so much that when they go off to college, I will probably cry more than my mother. In all, I wouldn't change a thing, I loved helping to raise them as much as I did even though I cut my own childhood short in the process. It was for them though, and knowing that they are happy and enjoying their teenage years is enough for me to be satisfied with being a sibling/parent.