People say that being the oldest child is a blessing, but don't let anyone fool you, it's a curse too. As an only child for four years you get used to being spoiled, being the apple of everyone's eye and basically just getting what you want. The day it ends is a hard day. At the ripe old age of five, is when this wonderful time ended for me. This may not be exactly how it went, but in my mind the day it ended went a little something like this; it was Halloween day, I was a princess of some sort and had to spend my entire day waiting with everyone is the hospital room for this tiny human to come into the world. It was the longest day of my life to date, but at the end of the day the best thing that has ever happened to me entered the world: my (not so little anymore) little brother Cooper.

Growing up I certainly didn't believe that he was the best thing ever, I couldn't wait for him to leave me alone so I could play with my barbies again (because everyone else played the wrong way). He got into everything and when my mom stopped sleeping on the floor next to his crib he then moved to my bed, so the days of sleeping in a big bed alone ended for quite some time. I was the first one experience new things, and the first one to make mistakes. I was the trial and error kid, with everything. My parents (just like any parent) expected the absolute best from me in everything I did, and sometimes I just wanted to stand out in the outfield and play with the grass and chew on my glove. I got yelled at for not running down the field and taking out the other girl fast enough, and FINALLY when I figured this out it was a glorious day after every game! I also got the wonderful pleasure of making all the teenage year mistakes first, those usually didn't go well for me. Looking back I now realize that the pointless arguments whether it was over sports or boys, it all made me tougher and more prepared as I continue on my life journey. As I have grown and now have the opportunity to "look back on the old days" (even though they really aren't old days) I know what a pain in the butt the first child can be (for both parties).

Griping and complaining about your younger sibling being "the spoiled one" or "the favorite" comes with the territory, because we used to know what that was like. I would be lying if I said being the oldest child was a curse, because honestly it's the best thing ever 99.9 percent of the time. As the oldest we may get the harshest punishments, but in all honesty we are still the spoiled ones and always get to say "I was born first" so naturally we get to boss the younger one around no matter how old we get. The best part about being the oldest sibling is getting to watch our favorite person on the planet grow up right before our eyes and take up more and more room in our heart (even though we will never admit it).

So here's to you making the same stupid mistakes I did (new ones of your own), here's to me wondering how in the world you are about to turn 16, and here's to mom and dad making these 20 years such a great and interesting learning experience for all of us.