On Being the Middle Child

On Being the Middle Child
By Lauren Malvica

“Being the middle child sucks!” Jenna yelled as she stormed out of the living room, and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. Jenna was always referred to as having the “middle child syndrome” or at least she saw it that way. Being the oldest child in a family has many perks; 1) the older child gets to pick on the younger ones 2) they can do whatever they want and their parents will say “well that’s because she’s four years older than you” 3) parents admire them for anything and everything. Being the baby in the family has its perks as well; 1) they don’t get in trouble for anything 2) if they fight with their older siblings they will never get punished because the older ones should know better 3) they are the baby’s of the family, the precious ones.
So, where does Jenna fit in? Right smack in the middle, that’s where. Jenna always felt that her life was a competition. Competition with her parents for their affection and love, since her mother was obsessed with her little sister Stephanie, and her father always stuck up for her older sister Nicole. Competition with school and who could get the better grades, and Nicole always came in first in that category, it was like she was just born a genius, she didn’t even have to study! Competition for boys was the worst though. Even though Nicole was four years older than Jenna, all of Jenna’s really hot guy friends loved Nicole. They loved her tininess, her style, her laugh, her smartness, they loved everything. Stephanie being four years younger, also got all of the attention from the boys, because she was “so adorable” and was going to grow up so beautifully. Middle child syndrome was a competitive sport that Jenna just could not win.
One day while the family made their usual visit to Long Island for some quality time with the extended family, Jenna came to the conclusion of how her M.C.S wouldn’t affect her any longer. Everyone was out in the yard playing some softball, and ofcourse Nicole was great at that too. But for once, Jenna wanted to show off her skills in the sport and decided to cut in front of all of her little cousins, to be up to bat next. When her uncle released the ball a strange feeling came over Jenna. It was a feeling mixed with anxiety, hate, stress, and nervousness and when she swung, it was with all her might. The feelings paid off because the ball flew high over the fence and out of sight. She was so pleased and as she took off to run and show off her skill, her feet became higher than her head and her arms started flailing around and before she knew it, she was covered in mud and wet grass. Jenna had busted her ass in front of her entire family. Everyone laughing and pointing, no one would talk about anything other than the fall for the rest of the day.
When they all got home, Nicole and Stephanie just still wouldn’t shut up about it. Making funny faces and pretending to fall down, made Jenna so angry that she cursed everyone and ran straight up to her room. Her mother came in and said “You know they are just playing with you right?” Jenna answered “ They make fun of me all the time, it’s really annoying, I wish I wasn’t the middle child”. Jenna’s mother laughed and said “Your sisters tease you because they are jealous of what you have”. “What I have? I don’t have anything compared to them” Jenna replied. Her mother answered “You have courage, and you are not afraid to be who you are and that is what makes them envy you. Nicole is afraid of everything and Stephanie wants to be just like you.” “Really?”. “Really” her mother replied and walked out of her room with such a loving grin.
It was at that moment that Jenna decided she wasn’t going to worry about being the middle child anymore. After all, she forgot that her mother had the syndrome and turned out to be the most awesome person in the whole world.