The Oldest of Three Brothers


My family is made up of five people, my parents and their three boys. I am the oldest of the three and have two younger brothers named Connor and Patrick. I am 17, Patrick is 15, and Connor is 12. If you look at Connor and Patrick side by side they look about the same age even though they are three years apart. We all have brown hair and brown eyes just like our mother. People always tell me that Connor and I look like our dad while Patrick looks like our mom. Being the oldest child definitely has its advantages and disadvantages.

I can somewhat remember the times when each of my brothers were born. It wasn’t the usual situation where the older sibling gets jealous of the baby because they’re taking all the attention. I was just as excited as my parents because I would finally have someone else to play with. I loved having my brothers around all the time until I got to be about 9 or 10 years old. This is when I realized that having younger brothers takes a lot of responsibility. My parents didn’t come to me and tell me all the ways I would have to watch over them, but I figured out on my own. Its kind of funny how my brothers struggled with things that I always seemed to be able to do on my own.

As time went on, the list seemed to get bigger and bigger. This made my life much more difficult. When my brothers started going to school I made sure they got ready in the morning and rounded them up after school. I still do those things sometimes even though I probably shouldn’t have to. I help them with homework and teach them things they don’t understand. I make them food and watch them when my parents are gone. When I got old enough to drive, I was constantly taking them places and picking them up. I have also helped them a lot with sports. We all play many sports so I am always teaching them things to make them better, whether we are playing basketball at the Rec or talking after a baseball game.

The main way that I help my brothers is by being responsible for myself and being a good example for them. I don’t always realize it but my brothers do look up to me as a role model. Almost everything that I do, they end up doing a few years later. This means that I have to be responsible and do things the right way to show my brothers what to do. I do this by always working hard and doing my best in everything I do, mainly school and sports. When they face a problem or don’t know if they can do something, they can ask me for help or just look back at how I handled it. Before this school year, Patrick was having trouble deciding whether he wanted to do for a fall sport. I explained to him that he should do whatever makes him happy and what he feels comfortable doing. We also talked about how he is pretty small for football but could be a great cross country runner. He ended up going out for cross country and I we both think he made the right decision.

When growing up with two brothers, there can be a lot of pressure, and of course my brothers always find ways to annoy me. Patrick seems to be easily distracted and lost in what he is doing while Connor can be short-tempered and overreacts to things. We don’t normally fight physically, but we often argue about who is right and wrong. It may seem as though being the oldest is a huge burden, but there are many perks. I usually get the first choice among my siblings, whether its choosing what to eat or what I want to do on vacation. I can usually boss them around, but I try not to be mean. I also get to do things before anyone else.

Looking back, I see that growing up as the oldest sibling has had a great impact on me, and I wouldn’t be the same person if I hadn’t. It may take a lot of responsibility and made be a critical person, but it has also given me many good qualities and fun experiences. Being the oldest of three brothers has its upsides and downsides, but I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.