12 Truths Everyone With a Much Older Sibling Will Find Relatable

If you have a sibling who's a decade plus older than you, then you know the unique struggles that come along with this dynamic.

Here's a list of truths that you will definitely be able to relate to, baby sister:

1. They Are the Coolest Person on the Planet

You've basically been looking up to them your entire life, both literally and metaphorically.

 

2. College Was a Life-Changing Shock

You didn't really understand the whole college situation until your much older sibling packed their bags for higher education. You kept thinking they would come back any day. Holidays confused you immensely because of your sibling's great disappearing act: Now you see me, now you don't!

(Hey Arnold via Nickelodeon Network)

 

3. Their Opinion Is Fact

Your older brother or sister is like a beacon of wisdom. What they say or feel is fact because they have lived so many more years than you.

 

4. It Can Be Hard to Relate

As you get older, the age gap won't feel as huge, but until then it can be difficult to relate. I mean, your older sibling practically grew up in a different generation than you. What are you supposed to talk about? The weather?

 

5. They Listen to Music That No One Your Age Has Heard Of

I'm not talking about classics like the Beatles or Michael Jackson. I'm talking about your older sibling's favorite underground or indie bands. Occasionally The Cranberries will come on at a dimly lit coffee shop and I notice that I'm the only person my age singing along (only because my older sib played them incessantly). Do you have to let it linger…

(Stranger Things via 21 Laps Entertainment)

 

6. They Are More Like a Parent

You may have other siblings closer to your own age. If so, you'll soon realize that your much older sibling doesn't really feel like a sibling at all, but instead like a third parent. You never want to get caught with your hands in the cookie jar around your adult-aged bro or sis. Their disappointment is worse than Mom or Dad's.

 

7. You Can Be Both the Middle and Oldest Child

If you're stuck in the middle, you fall into the roll of the middle child—with all their syndromes—and into the roll of the oldest, with all their responsibilities. When your much older sibling is away, you are acting oldest. You are in charge and the youngest becomes your molding clay. When your sib is around, you are again wedged in the middle like a sardine.

 

8. You Constantly Joke About Their Age

The only upper hand you have to your older sibling is youth. This means constant jabs in the form of birthday cards featuring grandparents and phrases like over the hill. These cards never stop being funny. To you.

(iCarly via Nickelodeon Network)

 

9. You're Pretty Much Safe From Hand-Me-Downs

There is no way your parents held onto your older sibling's tattered jeans and moth-eaten sweaters. You get brand spanking new clothes all thanks to that enormous age gap.

 

10. Conversely, Those Hand-Me-Downs Are In Style

You kinda wish you could get your much older sister's hand-me-downs because the '90s are totally back and you would love to rock some real vintage apparel. Ugh, how could mom not have foreseen this fate?!

 

11. You Never Know What Presents to Buy

Holidays and birthdays are a nightmare. What are you supposed to buy a sibling who has already lived through college? They are beginning to live that necessity life (they actually ask for gifts like pans and water filters) and you're still living for those luxuries.

 

12. You Always Feel Like a Kid

No matter how old you get, you'll always be a kid in the presence of your older sibling. They were old enough at the time you were born to remember all of the gurgles and diapers, so there is no way you'll ever stop being their baby sister.

(Full House via Warner Bros.)

 

Having a much older sibling has its ups and downs, but the stickiest of all sibling dynamics is being stuck in the middle. Click HERE to check out these middle child syndrome struggles.