When you grow up stuck between two siblings (and sisters no less!), being the “middle child” is bound to become a personality trait. Since the day my younger sibling made her rather unwelcomed entrance to the world—I often found myself blaming my inability to argue without crying, constant need of baby-ing, and formidable stubbornness on the fact that I was forced to endure twice as many arguments over food, and hair-pulling incidents over the years. Don’t worry though, it hasn’t all been lost hair and loud evenings! Cringey as I might sound, I can honestly say that being the middle child has certainly taught me some important things; think of them as war trophies.
For starters, being the middle child has put me in the center (see what I did there...sorry) of countless fights. This sort of torment, all though burdening, taught me a thing or two about spontaneously coming up with arguments with no loopholes, making me virtually unstoppable whenever I’m at it with anyone. When you have two sisters who, rather frighteningly, pick on every possible fallacy, you see yourself adapt to eliminate such interrogations. (I bet that I would be good at MUN’s if I tried...nevermind; I’m definitely not smart enough for that.)
Over the past 9 years, there has not been a moment in my life where either one of my sisters has not called me out on something. Take my older sister, for example, who does not fail to remind me that she is smarter than me. And my little sister, who is quick to tell me if my hair looks weird or if the outfit I picked out is “dumb”. I am certain most of you reading this would be genuinely concerned for my self-esteem (everyone is at first), but after suffering through it the first few times it happened, I learned to live with it. Now I can proudly say that I am numb to any negativity. This “party-trick” helps me be quite easy going; I am familiar with my strengths and weaknesses, and whatever anyone has to say...my 8-year-old sister has probably said worse!
Although being the middle child has its drawbacks, I must say that it is a journey that comes with its rewards. Every 2v1 argument and irksome comment has taught me something (whether I liked it or not) about myself and made me the person I am today. So (quite half-heartedly might I add) I would like to say thank you to my sisters for making my life unexpectedly more interesting. Do not mistake this for forgiveness though! My heart still reaches out to all the middle children out there. Our lives are quite...eventful. Stay strong, we got this guys!
Written by Pavani Mishra
Designed by Samaira Gupta
Image taken from Today's Parent
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