I am the middle child, and I love it. Yes, you heard correctly (or should I say read correctly?) I love being the middle child. I have many reasons for saying this, but first let me just tell you a bit about my family. I am one of six kids. Yup, big families still exist! I love the look on people's faces when I tell them I have five siblings. If you're part of a big family as well, then you know exactly what look I'm talking about. Anyways, I love having a big family. I have three older siblings and two younger. The list from oldest to youngest looks like this: boy, girl, girl, girl (me), boy, girl. So that's an older brother, two older sisters, a little brother, and a little sister. These people are my best friends, my role models, and my goofballs. With there being six of us it might be tempting to think that the middle children (I guess there's multiple middle children in my family) would be the forgotten ones, but I really don't think this is the case (although I was left at a park once when I was little, but that's besides the point). Being the middle child actually has a lot of pros, and it all essentially is because of the fact that as a middle child, you get to be both a younger and an older sibling.

That's right. A younger AND an older sibling! As the middle child, I get to receive perks from both ends! Let's start with perks as a younger sibling. Since I am not the oldest child, I did not have to face the struggle of learning first hand what Mom and Dad's rules were going to be. My older brother probably grew up breaking rules without even knowing he was breaking them, because they were being established as he was growing up. As he has told me many a time (typically while picking him up from a bar), "I opened the flood gates for you guys." That's right, he sure did. He was the first one to learn what made Mom and Dad happy, as well as what made them, to phrase it nicely, less than happy. Granted, it should probably be common sense as to what would and wouldn't please our incredible parents, but we wouldn't know for sure until someone tested things out first. As a younger sibling, I, luckily, did not have that role bestowed upon me. Rather, all the rules were already made while I was growing up, so I knew what was expected of me and how to earn special privileges from my parents. This would have been significantly more difficult had I been the firstborn child of my family. Therefore, let us all take a moment to thank our oldest sibling for "opening the flood gates" for all us youngsters, your sacrifice is deeply appreciated.

Yet another perk of being a younger sibling is perhaps something that often gets a bad rep. If you guessed hand-me-downs, you would be correct! I personally love hand-me-downs. Like hello, FREE CLOTHES!!! Clothes are crazy expensive, and I can understand being annoyed with hand-me-downs as a little kid. However, having paid for all my clothes since getting a job in high school, I now deeply appreciate the wonderful, already worn clothing given to me by my older sisters. I have gone through heaps of clothing my older sisters no longer wanted in the past, and I was able to choose what I did and didn't want. It was like shopping but everything was FREE. Maybe I just appreciate this more as a broke college student, but I mean, come on, it doesn't get much better than free clothes.

But wait, maybe there is something better than free clothes! As a younger sibling, you have access to a plethora of free advice. Parents can offer a great deal of advice, but some things might be better to go to siblings for. After all, they grew up in the same house as you, and in a much more similar time period than when our parents did. Styles have changed, technology has changed, and the way relationships are formed and work have changed. Our older siblings have gone through all of this right before we ever had to, and therefore will have a lot of helpful tips and tricks up their sleeves for us. If you go to the same schools, they can tell you what the teachers are like and what to expect. If you took the same classes, they can advise you on school work. When you have no idea if your outfit is fire or completely terrible, you can expect your older siblings to tell you the truth whereas your parents might not have a clue, and if they do, they might lie and say you look great anyways. And, of course, they can advise you on relationships. Whether you are having trouble with a friendship or significant other, your older siblings have already gone through similar situations and can give you a great deal of helpful advice, it's simply up to us to be smart enough to take it.

Now for the perks of being an older sibling. Let's start with the obvious: you finally have someone to boss around the same way you've been bossed around by the older siblings. It's mean and twisted, but it's true, we love to pick on and boss around our siblings, and the younger ones are much easier targets. As a younger sibling, getting picked on by the older siblings can get pretty old as there is really not much you can do about it, but when that younger sibling comes around you finally get the chance to have the tables turned in your favor. Sorry little siblings, that's just the way it is.

Another perk as an older sibling I have come to realize more recently is the fact that I will never have to experience being at home with my parents and no other siblings. I don't make this point to diss my parents, I actually love spending time with them. Rather, I make this point simply because having other siblings at home is just fun. Parents are great and all but life is simply better with your siblings around. I feel sorry for my youngest sister as she will have to go through all of high school without having any older siblings there with her. Some of us will live in the area at that point and will be visiting frequently, but it's just not the same as living under the same roof. So to everyone's youngest sibling and my own, I am sorry your older siblings and I are abandoning you with the parents, but I'm sure there are perks you receive as the youngest child that I will never enjoy.

The last perk of being an older sibling I will discuss is the chance to be someone's role model. You know how I mentioned being able to receive a plethora of advice from our older siblings? Well guess what, the middle child is also an older sibling, and therefore also has a plethora of advice to offer to the even younger siblings. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can most definitely look up to my older siblings, and while growing up I considered them to be role models (and still do). Being the middle child means being an older sibling which means being a role model for your little sibling(s). How flattering is it to know that your little siblings do things in hopes of being just like you. On top of that, this awareness should encourage you to be the best person you can be because we should want our younger siblings to strive to be the best they can be. With that being said, we should be trying our hardest to set a good example for our little siblings. You might not think they're looking up to you, and they might act like little snots and pretend that they aren't looking up to you, but the reality is they are. Let's promise to be the best big sisters (or brothers) we can be in hopes of setting wonderful examples for our younger siblings to follow.

All together, being the middle child has turned out to be a lot better than what people make it out to be. I get to be a younger sibling and an older sibling all at the same time! As Hannah Montana would say, "Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds."