Person: So how many siblings do you have?
Me: None, I’m an only child.
Person: Woah! I had a feeling you were. Anyways, you’re so lucky.
Me: You, my friend, have no idea.
17 years have elapsed since I’ve been born. 17 freaking’ years. Sadly, I have to face these questions every other day or whenever I meet someone new. After a few basic questions, this question always seems to pop up and usually always ends with the person saying I’m really lucky. Well we all know that being an only child has its upsides, like not sharing stuff with a sibling, being the center of attention and peace at home – but sadly, it’s not exactly like that. Here in this post, I’ll be talking about why I hate being an only child and why it’s a drag. The points below are in no specific order. The points are equally responsible for making me hate being an only child.
- ALL THE ATTENTION. Unless you live in an extended family, you’re going to be in the spotlight. I know attention is nice and all but don’t you sometimes wish you were on your own and could relax? Well we only child kids don’t get much of the chance. Being the only child means that all the FBI surveillance genes in your parents will be used on you. So basically, you’re under a watch 24/7.
- OVER PROTECTIVE PARENTS. I know it sounds as if I’m only complaining about parents, but I’ll get to society soon. Parents who only have one kid are bound to be more protective than people with kids amounting to players in a football team. Again, all their FBI surveillance genes are used on you. They don’t want you out of their sight. Especially if you’ve been asking them to send you abroad for University. They’ll just pull out “you’re our everything” card. Bye bye foreign education dreams. They won’t let you go
- EXPECTATIONS. Believe me, this is the worst thing about being an only child. All the expectations your parents had will be linked to you. Yes, you! You’ll have to be the all rounder. You should be able to get distinctions, be an amazing speaker, a brilliant cook, a handy hand around the house, a creative artist and whatever your parent’s wildest desires are. Believe me; expectations from your parents will kill you. However, if you decide to play dumb from the beginning, you’ve chosen a good way to go.
- DON’T YOU GET BORED ALONE LINE. Society and their dumb questions. This question literally makes me want to face palm myself. After the you’re so lucky dialogue, some people in attempts of making a conversation last longer bring up the question whether I get bored being an only child. HOW DO YOU GET BORED FROM YOUR OWN LIFE? A LIFE YOU’RE ACCUSTOMED TO AND HAVE BEEN LIVING FOR 17 YEARS? No people, I don’t get bored. And if I ever do, I use my phone, laptop, tv or any other bizarre alien technology I can lay my hands on. Besides I do have siblings. In fact I have loads. (Shout out to all my siblings ^_^ )
- YOU MUST GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT. Once you bring up the fact that you’re an only child, people start assuming you get everything you want. Sure I get more things than usual kids but I have to earn them by fulfilling my parents’ wishes. I guarantee that no one’s parents would by them a new gadget for failing an exam. Believe me, we lone children have to sweat blood in order to get what we have. Respect us.
-BEING SPOILED TO THE CORE. Well since most kids who are an only child live in solitude at home, they’re much more used to having things going their way. What I basically mean is that, you want everyone to do whatever you want your way most of the time because you think everyone will. But sadly, the world doesn’t go like that. It’s a sad place. And because most of my opinions are heard and implemented on at home, I usually feel that they will be implemented on outside my home. This usually ends up in disappointment.
-PEOPLE ASSUMING YOU'RE AN ONLY CHILD. People usually ask me how many siblings i have, when i tell them I'm an only child, i usually get the comeback "i thought you were, i just had a strong hunch." I find this highly annoying. Does my face read "pampered, lonely, spoiled, etc"?
Me: None, I’m an only child.
Person: Woah! I had a feeling you were. Anyways, you’re so lucky.
Me: You, my friend, have no idea.
17 years have elapsed since I’ve been born. 17 freaking’ years. Sadly, I have to face these questions every other day or whenever I meet someone new. After a few basic questions, this question always seems to pop up and usually always ends with the person saying I’m really lucky. Well we all know that being an only child has its upsides, like not sharing stuff with a sibling, being the center of attention and peace at home – but sadly, it’s not exactly like that. Here in this post, I’ll be talking about why I hate being an only child and why it’s a drag. The points below are in no specific order. The points are equally responsible for making me hate being an only child.
- ALL THE ATTENTION. Unless you live in an extended family, you’re going to be in the spotlight. I know attention is nice and all but don’t you sometimes wish you were on your own and could relax? Well we only child kids don’t get much of the chance. Being the only child means that all the FBI surveillance genes in your parents will be used on you. So basically, you’re under a watch 24/7.
- OVER PROTECTIVE PARENTS. I know it sounds as if I’m only complaining about parents, but I’ll get to society soon. Parents who only have one kid are bound to be more protective than people with kids amounting to players in a football team. Again, all their FBI surveillance genes are used on you. They don’t want you out of their sight. Especially if you’ve been asking them to send you abroad for University. They’ll just pull out “you’re our everything” card. Bye bye foreign education dreams. They won’t let you go
- EXPECTATIONS. Believe me, this is the worst thing about being an only child. All the expectations your parents had will be linked to you. Yes, you! You’ll have to be the all rounder. You should be able to get distinctions, be an amazing speaker, a brilliant cook, a handy hand around the house, a creative artist and whatever your parent’s wildest desires are. Believe me; expectations from your parents will kill you. However, if you decide to play dumb from the beginning, you’ve chosen a good way to go.
- DON’T YOU GET BORED ALONE LINE. Society and their dumb questions. This question literally makes me want to face palm myself. After the you’re so lucky dialogue, some people in attempts of making a conversation last longer bring up the question whether I get bored being an only child. HOW DO YOU GET BORED FROM YOUR OWN LIFE? A LIFE YOU’RE ACCUSTOMED TO AND HAVE BEEN LIVING FOR 17 YEARS? No people, I don’t get bored. And if I ever do, I use my phone, laptop, tv or any other bizarre alien technology I can lay my hands on. Besides I do have siblings. In fact I have loads. (Shout out to all my siblings ^_^ )
- YOU MUST GET EVERYTHING YOU WANT. Once you bring up the fact that you’re an only child, people start assuming you get everything you want. Sure I get more things than usual kids but I have to earn them by fulfilling my parents’ wishes. I guarantee that no one’s parents would by them a new gadget for failing an exam. Believe me, we lone children have to sweat blood in order to get what we have. Respect us.
-BEING SPOILED TO THE CORE. Well since most kids who are an only child live in solitude at home, they’re much more used to having things going their way. What I basically mean is that, you want everyone to do whatever you want your way most of the time because you think everyone will. But sadly, the world doesn’t go like that. It’s a sad place. And because most of my opinions are heard and implemented on at home, I usually feel that they will be implemented on outside my home. This usually ends up in disappointment.
-PEOPLE ASSUMING YOU'RE AN ONLY CHILD. People usually ask me how many siblings i have, when i tell them I'm an only child, i usually get the comeback "i thought you were, i just had a strong hunch." I find this highly annoying. Does my face read "pampered, lonely, spoiled, etc"?
-NOT BEING ABLE TO BEAR ANYONE’S INTERVENTION AT HOME. This
is basically for those who live in a nuclear family like me where it’s just
mom, dad and me. When you’re an only child and you live in such conditions, you
wont be able to tolerate any guests who intend to stay over for a long time. I
mean it. Intervention and interruption in your home is the most annoying thing
for a person like me.
-HAVING A REALLY QUIET HOME. Imagine being home alone at 12 am. Lights go off, you don’t have a generator or a UPS (because your ups caught fire last year and you’re scared to install a new one) and you have no one to pass your time with or comfort yourself. Being an only child means being bored, having a quiet home and sitting idle when most of your friends are busy or you can’t go out or anything. So yea. It gets creepy and sad for us too.
-LONELINESS. Sometimes, deep down inside, you feel as if something is incomplete, sometimes you feel a rage of jealousy when you see your friends' siblings do something sweet for them and sometimes you just want a friend who'd be with you all the time and would always be there. This is kind of emotional, but sometimes an only child feels the need of a sibling. We don't like to admit it, but we do feel it.
So yea, this is why I hate being an only child.
-HAVING A REALLY QUIET HOME. Imagine being home alone at 12 am. Lights go off, you don’t have a generator or a UPS (because your ups caught fire last year and you’re scared to install a new one) and you have no one to pass your time with or comfort yourself. Being an only child means being bored, having a quiet home and sitting idle when most of your friends are busy or you can’t go out or anything. So yea. It gets creepy and sad for us too.
-LONELINESS. Sometimes, deep down inside, you feel as if something is incomplete, sometimes you feel a rage of jealousy when you see your friends' siblings do something sweet for them and sometimes you just want a friend who'd be with you all the time and would always be there. This is kind of emotional, but sometimes an only child feels the need of a sibling. We don't like to admit it, but we do feel it.
So yea, this is why I hate being an only child.
