Let's be honest: You've always felt particularly special knowing that you have the extra charm that comes with being the baby of the family. Growing up, you used this to your advantage when arguing with your siblings. Though, they'll never truly understand how difficult it was being the last one to leave the nest. You see, it's not just about being cute and getting away with it — if you're the baby of the family, you know there's a lot more to it than that.
I'm the youngest one in my family. I'm even the youngest cousin out of all of us, so at big family reunions, I was always the baby. Just like your oldest sibling likely accepted the role of being the responsible, mature one, you accepted your role as being the cute, innocent one. As a fellow baby of the family, you and I both know how easy it was to turn on the charm whenever you wanted that extra chocolate chip cookie or to choose the movie to watch on family movie night.
Though, sometimes, it backfired on you. Your older siblings might have thought you got away with everything, but you know there's a lot more that goes on with being the baby than they'll ever understand. Don't worry, I see you, and luckily, we can all relate to these 10 things that are way too real.
Oh, hand-me-downs. From clothes to toys, you got a lot of them growing up. Sometimes, you may have opened up your closet to find your sister's clothes in there that you didn't want anymore.
The one positive from everything being handed down to you was knowing that the dress you always eyed in your sister's closet, would one day be yours. Those were the hand-me-down treasures you truly cherished.
By the time it was your turn to choose your college, your parents were likely very hands-on with the decision process. My parents didn't want me to go anywhere, so you can understand how much of a struggle it was to get them to agree on letting me go to a school that was out-of-state.
Let's be real: Playtime was usually pretty unfair to the baby of the family. You never had any say on which game to play — and that's if your older siblings actually let you play.
When I had family reunions with all of my cousins, I always opted for something like freeze tag or red rover. However, we always ended up playing house and I always got the role of baby — go figure.
One of the greatest aspects of being the youngest is you have so many people to ask for advice when you need it the most. You're the last one of the family to experience high school, the dating world, and adulthood. If you're ever confused, your older siblings are just a phone call or text away to help you get through it.
You've been called by your sibling's name so often that by now, you just respond to it. High school was difficult for me, as I had to continually correct teachers when they called me by my sister's name. Don't even get me started on how annoying it is to be called so-and-so's little sister. (Um hello, I have a name!)
As soon as everyone else left the nest, it was as if a giant spotlight just found you and wouldn't leave. Before, you could go about your day without much interruption. Afterwards, you couldn't even leave your room without a parent catching you and asking what you were doing. All parental focus shifted to just you, and you wish you were given a better warning.
I could live a happy life never having to hear the words, "You're next," ever again. The little joking nudge and wink doesn't help, either.
Anytime your older sibling experiences a milestone like graduating college, moving out on their own, or getting engaged, there's always someone there to remind you that the next person to experience that is you. You get it! You're next. You're always next.
As annoying as it was to see everyone else be able to do things before you, it was a blessing to learn from their experiences. You basically got a life tutorial on how to do things. For example, you learned first-hand the repercussions of getting home past curfew, and how to actively avoid that.
No matter your age, you will never lose the title of being the baby. Your mom will still be too concerned about what you did on a Saturday night with your squad, because she's a mom and in her eyes, you're still that toddler who played with Barbies and tutus. It can be annoying at times, but you know it comes from a place of love.
Your older siblings might think you can always get away with anything. Hey, it's not your fault that you just have this charm that comes with being the baby of the family. You didn't asked to be born last.
Of course, you still know how to turn on the innocent charm to get your way when you really want it. If you're given a superpower, you might as well use it — am I right?
