Diary of an Older Sister

For SAM,

Let me tell you, in a healthy family dynamic, being the eldest sister has got to be the most chore-filled role for a sibling.

Sure, being the youngest sibling means you have to listen and can't have your own rules. But everywhere you go, there are rules regardless. So why the complaint? Plus, younger siblings get attention and are less likely to get yelled at.

Then the middle children, in general, are described as being the "black sheep" of the family. It's typical to hear "they don't get as much praise as the older siblings and aren't paid enough attention like the younger siblings". This is a fair assessment, but at least you don't have as many responsibilities.

Eldest brothers, well, I have no clue what to say. I can't generalize all families. But from a cultural perspective, in some aspects, they have it easy. They are allowed to be lazy in the house, they don't have to babysit all the time, and eldest brothers are less likely to get yelled at. At least compared to older sisters.

Then again, eldest brothers have it tough too from an emotional perspective. They're not expected to cry and get slack for expressing more than "what's expected of them".

But being the eldest sister, again from a cultural perspective, is the toughest role a sibling can have. The stars above just said, "Eh, screw it. Let's have a laugh and make the firstborn an eldest sister," and sent all the eldest sisters into the World.

Eldest siblings, in general, have to deal with inexperienced parents, which is by far already pretty rough. Then we have to watch the younger siblings get by with less slack and less discipline compared to what we got. Man, I will never forget pages of extra summer homework and watching my siblings do small sections for the second half of August. At least they had it easy.

Caring for younger siblings is sometimes a chore. Taking them to school, making sure their homework is handed in, their meals, their emotional needs, and their questions. It's quite a lot to handle, even though I don't hate what I do.

There are a lot of good sides to being the eldest sister. Like having fun conversations with siblings who need it, laughing at what happened at school, enjoying playing video games together, scaring off my sibling's bullies, finding funny videos to watch together. It's some of the joys of being the eldest.

There is plenty of fun and heart-warming memories of prepping hot meals, telling funny bedtime stories, sharing internet funnies, and helping with my sibling's homework, that will forever be cherished by me. Even if they don't remember, I certainly will.

So, what do you get from this? Well, if you're not the oldest you can think of this experience as "gaining a new perspective". If you are the eldest or eldest sister of the family, what's up? Glad you read this.

Now, go give this like, or else I'm telling Mom!

Signed,

The eldest sister of 3