Confessions Of A Middle Child

If you ask me if I have ever experienced the infamous Middle Child Syndrome, I would say no. I would gladly retell stories of how nice I have grown up to be, given my birth order. You can ask my relatives and they would confirm how I’m always the one ready to help, how responsible I am, and how I would always sacrifice for others. My parents would always tell their friends how I’m the only one they could count on with housework and dub me “the independent one”. My siblings would testify as to how I’m the referee in the family, taking no sides and always aiming to reconcile them. My friends would wonder why I don’t follow trends when my siblings have the latest gadgets. They might also add how kind I am that’s why I’ve chosen to study Medicine.

The thing is this is the very nature of a middle child manifesting the birth order syndrome. I couldn’t remember the years when I was the youngest since that only lasted 3 years. When I became aware of my own existence I was already a middle child, and for my parents to even remember I existed I had to adapt. I figured my strategy back when I was about 7 years old. 

My siblings were both good in school so being top in class wouldn’t give me an edge. I figured being the kindest would, I would help out at home even if my TV time was compromised. Being kind was equivalent to be being liked, and being liked clearly corresponded to being noticed, whether consciously or not, this have been my way of living both at home and at school. Back in high school, the students would hold their own awarding ceremony during the Christmas party. Without a doubt, I received the “kindest classmate award” until we graduated. 

I’ve read some articles that said middle-born children are more likely to choose harder occupations. To be honest, I’ve just realized this after I’ve chosen to spend my 20s with med books and sleepless nights. Psychologists believed that our training in strategy-making and socializing proved to be keys as to why most middle child are successful. Also, most are believed to be involved in politics to ensure everyone is treated equally, something we didn’t experience growing up. Some of my famous fellow middle-born includes: Good ol’ Abe, JFK, Nelson Mandela, George W. Bush, and that pretty woman, Julia Roberts. 

In my two decades of existence, I now appreciate my birth order and what I’ve become over time. There are some perks to it after all. Being the average one, my parents do not expect much from me in terms of academics. I’ve been blessed with good friendship that pretty much fills the void of being neglected. Those years of trying to be kind cultivated a spirit of love within me for living things, which led me towards Medicine, which now meant more to me than just the praises that comes with it.