You’re not the oldest or the middle, you’re the youngest. There’s a difference. I have two sisters, a 10 year age gap between one and and a 14 year age gap with the other. My entire existence is based on what they’ve achieved. Their diplomas are on the wall, enlarged and framed with shiny outlines, yours is expected to be next, and bigger. Their work is talked about, how hard they worked in school,  you're expected to work just as hard, if not harder. What they’ve done wrong? Where they’ve messed up? You must do differently. My mother can’t make a decision for me without their input, I hate it. 

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But with sisterhood comes unity, love, and adoration. I look up to my sisters. The oldest is strong, she doesn’t take anything lightly. She stands her ground, but has a soft spot for me. She always says my mother “had me for her.” The immense amount of love can be overwhelming, but nonetheless a crucial element in our relationship. The middle sister is harsher. She means no harm but it comes unintentionally. We’re closer, in age and in trust. She can do without me for some time, but I know she loves me.  When we’re together, I can feel our bonds connecting, we get closer every time we’re around each other.

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But with sisterhood comes the bickering. The back and forth, whose right and who's wrong. You get told to “leave her alone”, but you wish to have instead heard “leave her alone! She’s younger than you.” She doesn’t take the argument seriously, because you’re younger. Or Correction: she can’t take you seriously. You aren’t yet enough to be taken seriously, you aren’t at her level of womanhood yet. You wish you could be older for once, show her how it feels to have your feelings thrown out the window. How it feels to be seen as a joke, how it feels to be “the problem” every time there’s an incident.

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But with sisterhood comes confusion. A constant question. The constant feeling of wanting to pry into your older sister's private life. You know who she is when she’s with you, and mom, and your other sister. But who is she at school? Who is she at work? Who is she with her friends? More importantly, who is she with her boyfriend? You can only hope that he realizes what he has, that your sister is something of a prized possession in your eyes. That confusion comes back, you wonder why she doesn’t tell you these things. But in the back of your mind you know it’s because you are younger, or better yet, the youngest.