In honor of the recent event of National Sibling's Day, otherwise known as "Only Child Awareness Day," here is a list of only child things:
1. “Oh, wow, you don’t seem like an only child!”
Umm, thanks? This is almost everyone’s response when it comes up that I am an only child. I never know how to respond to this statement. I know it is meant to be a compliment, but that means that you assume a lot of negative things about a huge part of my identity, and that does not feel so much like a compliment. So I will just keep nodding and chuckling politely.
2. “Oh, what is that like?”
I don’t know? What was it like growing up with siblings? As much as I try to explain it, you never really know what another person’s life is like unless you experienced something similar. That makes this really difficult to explain, just like having siblings would be really hard to explain to me.
3. Being left out of conversations.
You would never believe how many conversations there are about people’s siblings. Now, do not get me wrong, I love listening to stories about growing up. But sometimes it just stinks that you can never contribute to these conversations. Oh, unless you want to give a half-hearted, “One time me and my cousins...” story.
4. Feeling like you are your parents' only hope.
Sometimes being an only child can be stressful because you often feel (sometimes with good reason), that your parents are putting all of their hopes on you. Grades become super important and (at least in my case), you become a very strict rule follower because the idea of upsetting your parents is one of the worst things in the world.
5. You never got away with anything growing up.
Blaming things on siblings was never a thing in our world. And you did not have any other kids to distract your parents from something you had done wrong. On the other hand, your parents could always come to events growing up because you did not have to share them.
6. Forgetting that other people’s families aren’t just their parents.
I forget this all of the time. During events like family weekends or whenever I am asking someone else about their family, I always end up asking, “Are your parents coming?” or, “How are your parents?” To me, that is my family. I kind of forget about the sibling part.
7. You are super close to your parents.
Because your family is so small, you cannot help but be close. Your parents are not only your parents, but also your friends, and this is not just a recent development because you are getting older (and wiser?). They always have been your friends. Because, like it or not, you do not really have a choice. They were some of the few people in your world until kindergarten, and they remained at the center of your life for a long time. And you love the fact that they are your friends.
