Marcia Marcia Marcia
Dear Funny Problems,
Whenever people talk about birth order, why doesn’t anyone mention anything about being the 6th child in a family of 8? There’s a ton of research on first, middle and last child but nothing on 3rd to last. I don’t know where I fit in or how to act. Help.
gap_kid
Dear gap_kid,
I’m the 9th of 10 and I don’t know where I fit in or how to act either. It aint easy and I agree, it’s time our plights were addressed. If you’re first born and are an overachiever, no one thinks twice. And if you’re the youngest in the family and you refuse to eat anything but chocolate for breakfast, no one bats an eye. But if you’re the 6th of 8 or the 9th of 10 people (including you) have a harder time figuring out exactly why you do whatever it is you’re doing. Simply put, we’re misfits.
But one of the nice things about being a misfit is all of the personal freedom that comes with it. Since there is no clear-cut sociological profile you can identify with, you get to create your own. And since no one else seems to know what your birth order represents, your non-youngest/ not quite middle child self can represent pretty much anything. My suggestion is that you put your own funky twist on what it means to be the third to last child. No one will know the difference anyway and as long as it makes you happy it’s the right move.
Now get out there and start freaking people out.
FP
Funny Problems 