By Angel C.
I have two siblings, one older and one younger. Being a middle child isn’t always easy. I often find myself in the middle of silly arguments and having to take one side. My brother and sister are always arguing over who’s the better singer or dancer when clearly it’s me. I have to share a room with my younger sister and it can get really annoying. Not having my own space and always having to clean up after her is frustrating. I feel like since I am older now I should be able to have my own personal space. Having an older brother, I always looked forward to growing up to be able to do the things he was able to do. He would always be able to go out with friends and stay at home alone. When he and I were a lot younger we argued a lot but always ended up laughing about whatever it was. Because of this, I think our relationship is what it is now. When we were 15 and 9 we once argued loudly enough that my mom got tired of us bickering. She took our electronics away and forced us to both sit in the doorway of our rooms. We were stuck in our doorways, bored, with absolutely nothing to do for an hour. We started off mad and constantly blaming each other for the situation. But 20 minutes in the doorway and we couldn’t help but laugh at what we got ourselves into. We ended up convincing my mom that everything was good between us and that it wouldn’t happen again. We can be arguing about one thing but quickly get over it, moving on with life. This has taught me how to deal with conflict. Although my siblings can be annoying, we’re still family and nothing will ever change that.
I often hear my mom telling my siblings and I to be nice to each other and stop all of the arguing. “Why?” I ask. “ It’s no big deal, all siblings argue and we will get over it.” As I get older, I start to realize why. Something that could have happened in the past between people can be held as a grudge for a long time. One little thing can turn into a big thing and ruin a relationship just like that. When I see adults that don’t get along with their siblings I think about how I don’t want that to be my siblings and I when we’re older. I feel like it’s important that you maintain a good relationship with your sibling(s) because as you get older you might depend on them more. I’ve learned a lot of important things from my siblings. For one, I’ve learned how to communicate and get my point across. I’ve also just learned the importance of being there for people and having people to depend on.