Being the oldest child is a blessing and a curse. Yes, it's pretty awesome we get to boss our siblings around and can always use the famous line, "if you don't do this I'm going to tell mom", which works basically every time (believe me!). Meanwhile, we also get blamed for EVERYTHING, seriously...everything. Whether it is being told to be careful when horsing around with our younger siblings because, "you don't know your own strength" and one of them ends up crying, or a chore doesn't get done that wasn't even directly assigned to one of us.
No matter what we do, good or bad, our siblings see it all and they learn from it. It's kind of like being a mini-celebrity, except we only have a couple of fans and it feels like they are destroying our lives most of the time. Our younger siblings learn from everything we do. If we text and drive they see it and if we earn straight A's they see that too. Those little eyes see everything, the good and the bad, but more importantly, their little ears hear everything, literally everything. We might think we are talking to our parents alone but nope, their little eavesdropping ears are just around the corner. We always have to be extra careful of what we're saying and doing.
The thing is, being the oldest is such a blessing. It really influences the person we become. It makes us so much more aware of our surroundings and makes us even more cautious before we begin to speak because we never know who could be listening. It teaches us that others notice our actions, we are not invisible. It teaches us the world does not revolve around us. Why? Because it revolves around the baby of the family. Getting our way all the time isn't a thing when you're the oldest, we learn how to make compromises and negotiate. As the oldest we learn real quick the importance of picking and choosing our battles wisely, sometimes swallowing our pride and letting the other person win is the best choice because it is just not worth the argument that it would start. We learn to take responsibility for our actions and how to accept constructive criticism.
The thing is, as the oldest we know we always have our younger siblings looking up at us and love us, whether they say it or not. When our younger sister comes to us to vent or ask for advice about boys, high school drama, or classes those are the times that we know she looks up to us. The time our little brother gives us chocolate because he knows it's our favorite, those are the times we know our younger brother loves us. Even though our younger siblings have gotten us in trouble many times, and they frustrate us and annoy us to no end, we still love them unconditionally.
