there's a topic that i've discussed with my friends before but recently it's come up again and each time it was the friend who brought it up and i wasn't trying to steer the conversation in that direction but nonetheless, here it goes: we feel that our younger brothers were spoiled as children and are having a hard time transitioning into adults with full responsibilities.

perhaps because in each case the person who feels this way is the oldest and we're criticizing the youngest out of habit or jealousy. or perhaps it's because we're all female and we're doing a gender comparison. for each of us, we were born within 1 year of each other and our brothers are also born within 1 year of each other. it could be something to do with the age gap or the slight generational difference of our ages (70s vs 80s babies). also, i've noticed that with each of us we aren't really in regular communication with our youngest sibling for various reasons. this could be the point in our lives when we've grown up and lost communication because we're so focused on the lives we have created for ourselves (work, family, etc.). when you're not in the loop, all sorts of negative things can develop (gossip, this entry, etc.).

sure with siblings there is rivalry and we have our own share of criticism, complaint, praise, fault, dependency, etc. but i can't help but notice the sentiment of the eldest towards the youngest is the same. i don't feel as strongly about my brother in this regard as i once did. he's older now and is living on his own with a job, etc. yet there lingers some of the old sentiment.

perhaps for each of my friends it is due to us being the eldest. when we would misbehave, our parents would tell us that we must set examples for the younger siblings, that we are older and know better. maybe that sentiment stays with us for the rest of our lives: "i'm older than you so i know better, listen to me! follow my example!". or perhaps it is due to the age gap. when we graduated high school and transitioned into adults, we left behind our brothers who were just becoming teenagers. since we remember them as children, we continue to treat them as children. then there is the gender issue. i think that each of us feels as females, we weren't as appreciated as much by our parents and they favored the male children. despite what our parents say to the contrary, we are of ethnic backgrounds that hold to that old mindset of boys are worth more than girls. or maybe it is generational and we think that most everyone born in the 80s is spoiled. perhaps it just comes down to everyone blossoms into adulthood and responsibilities at different times in their lives. who's to say when the age is. we don't like it when others judge us so in return we should not judge others.