What It's Like to Have a Much Younger Sibling

I was born on August 10, 1998. In just a few short months, I will be 19 years old. I have just finished my first year of college, fallen in love with an amazing guy, and I'm currently working at my third job. My sister, Olivia, was born on January 24, 2014. She has succeeded in getting her first haircut, learning to brush her own teeth, and bringing joy to the lives of everyone around her. We are in very different stages of life and yet we are so similar. I see so much of myself in her, but I still feel distant sometimes. My brother and I grew up together, as we are only a little less than three years apart in age. With Olivia, it's different.

I still remember clearly when my mom told me she was pregnant with Olivia. She said that someone was going to come live us and then we proceeded to try to guess who it was. After guessing cousins and grandparents, it finally dawned on us that my parents were a little too happy to be inviting someone else into our already crowded house. A baby was the only logical explanation and a baby it was. I didn't think my parents were ever going to have another child. It had been twelve years since they had my brother and I was pretty comfortable with that; I was pretty comfortable with the way life was. I was upset and I didn't like the idea of having a new sibling for several months. Now, I realize I was just scared.

After Olivia was born, I turned into a mother. Not literally, of course, but I did take on some maternal characteristics. I have changed her diaper, I have rocked her to sleep, and I have experienced what it feels like to have a small child throw up in your sock. Somehow she did this while I was wearing it. I love her to pieces and she'll always be my sister, but in some ways, I'm always going to be like a third parent to her. I scold her when she's bad and I teach her right and wrong. Not to mention, when she finally turns 15, I'm going to be 30.

I also turn into a mother almost every time I go out into public. Sometimes when I hold Olivia's hand in the grocery store, people think she is my baby. I have heard people tell my mom on more than one occasion that she has a very beautiful grandchild. It's a little embarrassing for both my mom and me.

Sometimes I feel sad knowing I'm going to grow up with a different type of relationship with my sister, than I did with my brother. My brother and I are friends; we play video games together, we went to high school together, and we go shopping together sometimes just to get out of the house. I'm worried my sister and I won't have that. I don't know if a 15-year-old girl is going to want to spend time with a 30-year-old me. Still, I love my sister more than anything else in the world and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.