“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”
𝘉𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴
“𝘈𝘺, 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘬𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘥!” This is a phrase that I have been hearing all my life.
Whether from people who personally know me or people who have just met me, this phrase is always their chosen icebreaker for me. It doesn’t matter if they have said it before. It also doesn’t matter if they knew my life and my background. They will still tell me that I am supposed to be pitied because I lack siblings.
Dear reader, it is time to stop calling the only child 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢.
I usually hear on AM radio and on TV dramas that people without siblings are 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢 because they are all alone. I beg to disagree. As an only child, I never felt alone. I never considered myself to be alone.
In fact, I recognized my own agency at an early age thanks to my circumstances. Being without siblings has taught me to fend for and depend on myself for company, peace of mind, and stability. I never sought out companionship because I knew that I had myself.
I also did not have any problems making friends because I was confident enough to converse with others thanks to my wide exposure to books and movies. I was interested in other people because I had a curious mind.
In school, I did not feel awkward because I was there to learn. The friends I gained along the way were there because we had common interests. So, I have myself to thank for my own self-assurance.
I also learned to overcome challenges and learn from my failures because I had a high standard for excellence. I did not fear failure, because I only competed against myself and not with siblings.
I must say that the stigma against my being an only child translated even until I joined the workforce. I was questioned about having no siblings in job interviews, and I told them all that I was not a spoiled child. I knew what I wanted and what my goals were, so I might have been mistakenly perceived as spoiled. But I never thought of myself as one.
I worked doubly hard for everything because I was the only child in my family. It was solely my responsibility to make myself and my parents proud. So, I am not kawawa because I do not have siblings to pressure me to succeed or make my way into the world. I only had myself, and I am fortunate enough to grow up knowing that I wanted to write and publish books for a living.
Now that my dreams are coming true, I can say that I am lucky that I worked hard and followed my heart. I am not 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢 because I have direction in life, and I made it all happen for myself.
So, if you know someone who does not have siblings, stop calling them 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢. It is a backward mindset that unfairly stereotypes people.
People should be appreciated for their skills, values, and strengths. They should be seen for how they overcome challenges and how teachable they are. Everyone should be able to make their own way into the world.
It is time to move forward from the stereotype that the only child is 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢. The only child is strong, capable, and determined.
No one deserves to be called 𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘸𝘢 simply because of their solitary order in the family.
Source: Transit Dialog
