I was born into a very loving family, with siblings always there for me to annoy. There's one huge problem though... I was born as the youngest of four children. I was, and always will be, the "baby" of the family. You might be saying "What could be bad about that? Being the youngest is great!" I mean, yeah it is, don't get me wrong, but like anything else, there are good things and bad things. Not to mention, most people are usually wrong about what being the youngest means.

"You don't have as many rules." Not necessarily true. My parents were sick and tired of enforcing the rules as strongly as they did for the children before me, so it seemed like less rules, but just because they were tired of it does not mean in any way that I was let off the hook. My siblings made my life hell if I got away with one little rule-breaking situation that they were yelled at for.

"You get away with everything!" Also not true thanks to the lovely older siblings. If they caught me doing something they once got in trouble for (Even if it was two years ago, they remember it), it was instantly a screaming match in front of our parents. My sibling would try to convince them I did it, and I would try to convince them I didn't. Most of the time we both got in trouble and had to hug it out, so that we didn't stay mad at each other (We still were though. Hugging does nothing).

"You get everything you want!" This is actually pretty accurate. I ask for a lot of things, and being the baby of the family does have its perks. I didn't get EVERYTHING I asked for, but I did get a lot. I can't say much more about this, but I can say that it never slid past my siblings. Ever. Every time I got something I asked for, they would complain. "Why does she get everything?" "Why can't I have that?" There is no answer, except that I am the baby. And somehow, for some unknown reason, this gives me leverage over the parental units.

The fights were terrible. I started them a lot because I was an obnoxious brat. Then there was constantly being blamed for things. (Granted, a lot of times I did it, but it was terrible to be blamed when I didn't.) Also, not being believed because I was "too young" and I didn't "know what I was talking about." Those things were bad, but they happen in every family. The two worst things about growing up as the youngest were being expected to live up to everything my siblings did, and being left behind.

My sister, the oldest of us, is an amazing dancer, and she's smart too. My oldest brother excelled in sports. He played a ton, and he was great at them all. My second brother is a genius. He can do, and learn, almost anything. Then there's me. I was expected be like them; smart, talented, athletic. Except, no matter what I did, or how much effort I put into it, I was always told that they "did it better when they were your age." So I made a conscious decision to slack off. Why try my hardest, when it wasn't going to be as good as them?

Then I was left behind. They grew up, left the house, went to college, to a different country for a job, and I was left alone. I no longer had a room I could knock on when I was bored. I had no more pointless fights over nothing. No more blaming each other, no more screaming matches, no more complaining. It seemed like I had no more siblings. I hated it. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of emptiness in a house that used to be full of kids.

I complained a lot about my siblings growing up (Who doesn't?), but now that I have left my house, and am away at college as well, I can appreciate all the things that they did for me. They all shaped me into the person I am today. I learned from my siblings, even if I don't want to admit it. I looked up to them constantly, and it's all payed off. I want to tell you, if you have siblings, appreciate them. They're doing more for you than you know.

And to my siblings,

Thank you. For everything.