14 years later

I was born during the time my two older sisters were practically young women. Fourteen years after having their second child, there I came; and whether I was planned or not, I have no idea. Both of my parents were making a living overseas, and the three of us had to be left under our maternal grandparents' patronage.

When both of them were already in college, I was yet to learn reading three-letter words. They were watching pop music videos, hooked up on TV series, and giggling over rom-com movies while I entertained myself with Barney, Teletubbies and Bananas in Pajamas. 

I still remember envying my preschool classmates for having siblings near their age to play with. At home, I had no one else to play with (I don't remember having imaginary friends anyway, thank goodness); my sisters were always at school or out with their friends, and my grandparents were too weak to keep up with an energetic five-year-old. They wouldn't let me out of the house often either - most of the time I'd just watch other children my age playing outside through our veranda. 

That being the situation, I grew up to learn enjoying my own company. Television, books, toys and my pet Leila, a Pitbull, were my friends. Sure, I had those times when I wished for a companion - a real, human one, but I wasn't what you could really consider "sad." In fact, there were some perks too!

•  I always get new stuff -- being the stereotypical spoiled bunso of the family. I wasn't given hand-me-downs unlike other people with siblings, because my sisters' stuff were practically too old to get passed on to me.
• From the time I get to actually bond with my sisters, I always get stories about how different our generations are; it's like hearing "once upon a time" stories.
• They've shared tastes from their generation with me: from music, books, and movies. It's like I actually experienced being their age.
• As I approached my teenage years, that's the time our closeness was in its primetime. I suddenly felt the sisterhood as they thought me grown-up, lady-like things.
• Because of the age gap, they were almost like my parents because of the way they look after me. Cool, I have 3 sets of parents: my grandparents, my actual parents, and them. Yay!
• I almost never experienced sibling rivalry - my parents can't just compare 2 daughters 14 years apart in age. 

I could go on with this list, but here's a few. Well for me, having siblings with such a huge age gap has its own pros and cons. But because of those fourteen years of difference, I got the experience having siblings, but at the same time, know the feeling of being an only child, which is not a bad thing. People also say that I have the traits of a first born child, being bossy and all. I don't know, you just have to get used to it and enjoy your perks. 

SocSci10 Z Group 5

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