Them: "How many siblings to you have?
Me: "None, I'm an only child."
Them: "Oh wow that must be so nice."
Yes and no. There are so many ups and downs to being an only child. If you're wondering what it's like as a day in the life of a one and only, here is the reality of it all.
We are loved by our parents and we don't have to share it with anyone else.
Besides the dog. And sometimes I wonder that my parents love the dog more than me.
There's nobody to argue with besides your parents.
We don't get the opportunity to get in fights with siblings growing up. I say opportunity because you all laugh about it later in life. Some of my favorite stories from friends and family are of the stupid fights they had while growing up. I just got in arguments with my parents. And of course they were always right.
We have no siblings to play with while growing up.
We rely on neighbors and cousins and family friends. But when my best friend across the street was grounded I had nobody but me, myself and I.
Not all of us are spoiled.
Them: "Oh you must be so spoiled."
Actually no. That's not the case for all only children. My parents raised me to work for what I have. I didn't get everything handed to me just because I was their only one.
The attention is always on us.
This can be good and bad. If we cause havoc we are the only ones to be blamed and there are no siblings to place the blame on. Just ourselves. But if we're good, then we get praised. We are bragged about to friends and family and we basically become a Queen (or King).
We are really independent.
We learn to do things by ourselves. And often times we prefer to be alone. For this reason alone I had a hard time at the beginning of my relationship. "So you're telling me I have to base my life decisions on another human being? There's an us now?"
Christmas is really boring as a child.
We get to open our gifts in front of our parents. And what happens if we don't like a gift? There are no distractions to take away from the disappointment on your face. Then we spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. As a child this was horrible, now I cherish the moment.
Our siblings are our pets.
I asked for a sibling for Christmas multiple years in a row when I was younger. Unfortunately that wasn't in the books for my family. I had a cat sibling when I was younger and got a dog sibling for Christmas my junior year in high school!
Being an only child isn't as great as it may seem, but it's also not bad either. As a child I hated it. Apparently I threw a temper tantrum when I was younger because my parents wouldn't let me stay with my cousins on our family vacation. Both of my parents had 3 siblings growing up so they didn't understand why I was so upset I had to sleep by myself.
Now that I'm older I don't mind at all. I love hanging out with my parents and I'm so thankful for the way they raised me. I don't mind being the only child at all. It's not too bad.
