The Curse Of The First Born

Nobody knows the troubles i see.... Nobody knows my sorrow....

i don't know if all first-borns out there can relate to this, but it sucks to be the first born in the family.

oh sure, you might think that we get all the stuff first hand, we never get hand-me-downs, we set the trail for our siblings to follow...

but behind the thin veil of the rather dull glitz and glamour,is a whole load of responsibility and expectations that only the first born child of the family is supposed to bear- freeing all other siblings of the role.

as a first born, you're expected to take care of your younger siblings, and in the view of the parents, that means sharing your stuff whether you want to or not, giving them stuff that we actually might still want to keep, thank you very much, giving in to their ridiculous whims and tantrums, letting them climb all over you without uttering a single complaint, letting them choose the better of EVERYTHING EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GET THE FIRST CHOICE, HELLO... and your parents... your parents, who up until then had fussed over YOU AND ONLY YOU, now stand behind you, judging you by your every move how you treat the new baby...

you're supposed to be the chew toy when their teeth start coming in, when they hit you, it's FUCKING ADORABLE, but when you hit THEM, whoa, why are you being such a bitter, vindictive elder sibling? have you no compassion? apparently younger siblings have absolutely no fucking clue as to what they are doing, that's why we should just sit back and let them do whatever the hell they please. and us, on the other hand, have been bestowed with infinitely more knowledge and understanding than them just because we have a few years on them. hence, we have to be the good example, the shining beacon which they will use as a guide to shape their lives.

and that's all just during childhood...

when you get older, the parents fucking start blaming you if anything goes wrong with the younger ones, as if they are totally devoid of the responsibility of raising them. i mean, hello, we can't cross the younger ones, should they tell on us, and if we tell on them, we're tattling.

and we're supposed to get "equal amounts" of every shit thing, because of course the parents love us both "EQUALLY". yet he first born is still expected to shoulder more burden, because, well, you ARE the first born...

and we're supposed to watch out for the younger one, thereby impeding their personal growth and development into someone independent. what kind of reasoning on the parents' behalf is that?!?!

and then when THEY make mistakes later in life, it's still overlooked, as if they are still fucking ignorant of their actions. you get reprimanded for the same mistakes, or even less, whilst they get to go off scott-free.

and chores. CHORES. you're expected to do pretty much everything, because yours is the name they remember most. and apparently the other kid is too young to do shit except whatever they want.

and there you sit, under-appreciated for the better part of your life, and you are the one expected to take care of your parents in their old age. because apparently, they've been looking after you the longest.

urgh. fuck this shit.