I am the youngest of three siblings, and I've got to say, there is a harsh reality that comes with being at the low end of the spectrum. Nah, I'm just kidding. Being the youngest really isn't that bad. Yes, as the baby of the family, you are forced to grow up with a negative stigma, but there are some benefits to the standing, too.
Like for one, you grow up with some pretty incredible siblings. Being the older ones puts them as your role models and you strive to be just like them... Most of the time, anyway. It makes the "oh, so you're so-and-so's little sister" a little more bearable. Because you are always someone's little sister, and that will never change. I like to think of it as a trademark of mine.
Even if that wasn't an association, I am still lucky to have siblings to look up to. I'm thankful I have an older brother and older sister whom I love dearly and that we are the kind of siblings who can also be friends. But, that being said, I have expectations to follow, and the constant comparison made by friends, family, or just the community in general can be pretty annoying. For instance, I can't tell you the number of times I've had the same teachers as my brother or sister and seen the underlying expectation to be as smart as them. Though, I suppose this doesn't come as much as a surprise since the three of us all went to the same elementary, middle, high school and four-year university. I mean it's bad enough that my parents mix up our names at home, but now I have to be called my sister's name at school, too!
Another aspect of being the youngest, that may or may not come as a surprise to people, is how often we are called spoiled. It's true my parents become more lenient because they've been through it all at least once before, but I would not say I got more attention or more privileges. My siblings may disagree on this one. Come on, there has to be some sort of benefit to being the only child at home for a year or two.
But no matter what I experience as the youngest child, I still occasionally wonder what it would be like to have younger siblings. Being a big sister doesn't look too bad in my eyes, but maybe that's because my sister was just good at hiding the pain of responsibility. I will say it would be nice to gang up on someone else for a change instead of being the one getting teased. However, I have realized you can still teach a thing or two to your older siblings, because I know I sure have! While I probably learn the majority of life lessons from them, they now have the experience of taking care of an obnoxious, unruly child which I would argue could come in handy for the future. So, you're welcome in advance.
While all of us youngest siblings may have a lot to live up to, in the end, we know we would never change our position in the family tree because all the memories and inside jokes make up for the small setbacks. I, for one, owe many of my accomplishments to the support of my older brother and sister, and I hope they appreciate their position in our family as much as I appreciate mine.
