โ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.โ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ข๐ป๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐
๐๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ด
โ๐๐บ, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฅ!โ 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 doesnโt matter if they have said it before. It also doesnโt 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 ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข.
I usually hear on AM radio and on TV dramas that people without siblings are ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข 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 ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข 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 ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข. 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 ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข. The only child is strong, capable, and determined.
No one deserves to be called ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ธ๐ข simply because of their solitary order in the family.
Source: Transit Dialog