Believe it or not, depending on your birth order, your personality can be affected. As an older sister, I like to say that it is truly a blessing being able to guide, motivate, and set a good example for my two younger sisters.

Dreams that seemed impossible to reach were attainable due to my constant ambition. Maybe it’s because of genetics, the amount of “attention” that I received being a first-born, or because of how disciplined I was, that I made sure to only get straight As. As an older child, we all want to impress our parents and make sure our younger siblings follow – which is why we’re such over-achievers. It is not necessarily a bad characteristic, but there are times it can get overwhelming.

I understood how important it was to be a good role model. No matter what, younger siblings tend to always follow after their older sibling’s footsteps. It is extremely important for me to make sure that my younger sisters succeed, hence why I tried my best to set a good example and reputation for them all through middle school, high school, and now college.

I began learning what the true meaning of patience was. There were many times where my frustration got in the way of effectively teaching. No one is perfect. When the time came to help teach my sisters with subjects I thought were “easy” to understand, I lacked patience. To me, it was easy because I have already learned the material, but I later on developed different strategies to help them learn the material without confusion.

It quickly became apparent to me how much I needed to learn how to survive on my own and take care of others. I knew it was crucial for me to learn how to cook, so I can survive through college and help out at home. Of course it is always expected for the older sister to be responsible for cooking and cleaning the house, but I thank my mom for teaching me how to properly be able to survive on my own. That way, whenever I see how much she has on her plate, I can help around in the house. It was always in my nature to help care for other family members and human beings (which is why I want to become a physician). Having to take care of younger siblings has definitely made me more responsible and more motherly- even though they hate me for it sometimes.

I was forced into becoming a great leader. All of my life, I had to be the advocate for both of my sisters. There were many times where they were afraid to speak up- whether it would be in school or having to talk to a customer service representative, I’m always there for them. When it comes to event planning with two other teenagers, things go wrong all the time. Because of this, I make sure there’s always other alternatives. Since I’ve always had to constantly delegate for them, I have no problem taking control and being a successful leader.