Things only an only child would understand

October 25, 2016
  1. We’re not spoiled brats. Well, not all of us at least. Some of my friends with siblings are way brattier and more selfish than one could imagine.
  2. Our parents tend to be slightly overbearing and overprotective. Of course, all parents are to some extent, but ours have nobody else to focus on but us!
  3.  We always try to please our mom and dad. And it can be real stressful at times.
  4.  We love being around big families. And that makes us appreciate our cousins a lot more. They’re the closest thing to a brother or sister we’ll ever have. It’s not always two sided unfortunately as they may have their own set of siblings, so you’ll never be considered one of them. Nevertheless, you’ll still want to give more love.
  5.  We cherish our friendships. It’s not true that we like to be on our own. Quite the opposite, we love being surrounded by people. I had enough imaginary friends and books to keep me plenty entertained while growing up, but what I really wanted was other kids my age to play with. And this doesn’t change with age.
  6. We’re sensitive. Maybe a little more than the average person. Listen, we didn’t have a big sister or brother to poke at us and endlessly make fun of us to toughen us up.  
  7. It sucks that we’ll never get to be an aunt or uncle. Seriously sucks. I’m bummed out just thinking about it again. I’ll only ever be an aunt by marriage. But that’s not really the same, is it?
  8. We love attention. I think we even secretly like negative attention as well. As long as it means people are talking about us.
  9. We don’t always remember our childhood. Parents can only remember so much, and unfortunately we don’t have siblings to remind us of the embarrassing things we did in school, or the fights we got into with that kid down the street.
  10. It’s actually harder with age, when everyone around you is close to their brothers and sisters, and you’re on your own. On the other hand, your parents become your best friends, and nothing beats that.

And for God’s sake, please stop stereotyping. If I got a penny for every “what, you don’t look like an only child!” that I’ve heard, I’d be richer than Bill Gates by now.

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