Being the Youngest

Being the baby of the family really has its perks. In school, it doesn't really matter much but if you get higher grades than your older friends, you get to rub it in their faces. When you start off work, though, you probably won't be treated with much respect if all your co-workers are older than you. You have to earn your respect and let them know that you're on top your game.

Age is supposedly just a number (that every aunty tries to hide and every office worker tries to illegally lower.) But when you're the youngest in a Bangladeshi household, you must be familiar with the following:

You always get the chicken raan (leg piece). You always get the last piece of cake. You always get to eat the leftover pilau while your sibling gets plain rice. You basically always get the best food available thanks to your late entrance into the world. Finally, a good side to being late.

Your elder sibling gets scolded even when it's your fault. Ah yes, the power of fake tears and puppy eyes. Most people think that middle children are the most neglected and so are most likely to go down the wrong path. In my opinion, the youngest are born the evilest. Blackmailing comes almost naturally to us. And the best part: Your parents will still always listen to you.

Everybody's always looking out for you. This is a pretty bitter-sweet aspect since it means that your elder siblings become your additional parents and you're even more grounded. Your family's going to be over-protective about you but will still stick their necks out for you whenever you need it.

Not everything's fun and games, though. Being the youngest also means you're under the most pressure when it comes to your academics and future success. You're going to be compared with your elder siblings' accomplishments as well as with your elder cousins'. Pray that they flunk their exams because if they do, you're off the hook. Okay, don't pray for that, that's a horrible thing to do. But if they do flunk (without the help of anyone's bad prayers), you'll be celebrated for having even mediocre talent. It's back to fun and games from there.

Your opinions are almost never taken seriously. Just the other day, I was telling my Mom about all the life-crushing stress in my life and she laughed in my face. Maybe I exaggerated just a bit but they can't just expect us to have zero problems and be as happy as a duck all the time. But they do. And if you are unhappy for any reason whatsoever, they're going to blame themselves. Doesn't matter if the problem is completely unrelated to them. Bad things just can't happen to you unless they've made a horrible mistake in bringing you up.

The best and worst part is, you'll always be the kid. Even when you're 40, you're still going to be considered the baby of the family that just can't be trusted with too many responsibilities. You're always going to be sitting at the kids table. You're always going to be getting that raan.

Mayabee Arannya is a confused soul still searching for a purpose. Give her advice on life at facebook.com/mayabee.arannya