The sound of my mom's voice screaming "G-E-T U-P" frightened me and my older sister, Emma, to the point we would launch ourselves out of our warm bed in fear of unending screaming or worse… being doused with cold water. However, my sweet youngest sister, Tess, lies in bed: warm, comfortable, and in absolutely no rush to get out of bed.  I have the best of both worlds, being the middle child. I am the second-born of three girls, having figured out what I can and can not do based on Emma's actions and advice. Learning from my oldest sister allows me to give my little sister advice and tips. In staying quiet and observing my two sisters, I have learned that there is a drastic difference in the treatment and expectations between the first-born (Emma) and the last-born (Tess). 

The oldest’s and youngest’s ability to get away with things is practically a universe apart. Emma can not get away with anything. The simplest things like a subtle complaint about loading the dishwasher sets off a 3 minute speech about the privilege of having a dishwasher with Emma as the captive audience. Tess, on the other hand, can take her sweet time getting to the dishwasher just to unload the silverware. Typically her method includes; taking the longest way to the kitchen, stopping by the bathroom to brush their hair, occasionally using the bathroom--and my favorite – “proclaiming my stomach hurts.”  Nevertheless, Mommy comes in and coddles the baby-Tess which usually gets her out of doing the dishes. Meanwhile, the oldest is always stuck with drying, unloading everything,  hand-washing the big items and leaving only the silverware for Tess. Unlike Emma's protest, Tess´ complaints of unloading the silverware are met by Mom saying she will finish them for her in lieu of delivering ¨the speech¨. 

One of our chores my parents engraved into mine and Emma's heads was to make your bed everyday. Therefore, everyday we woke up and made our bed perfectly. For Emma, an unmade bed is one of the worst ways to start the day. The feeling of an unmade bed haunts the oldest mind all day, so Emma makes it first thing in the morning. Everything in her room has a place and the moment her clothes are set in her room, she must put them away. On the opposite end is the youngest who couldn't care less.  In fact, a dirty room full of clothes (for who knows how long they have been on the floor ) works for the youngest. My parents often tell Emma to clean her room because it's ¨their¨ house, while Tess is told that she needs to clean their room tomorrow, but it never happens. Me and Emma knew that If we didn't complete a task to my parents' standards there would be consequences. My parents conditioned us to complete a chore right away and perfectly. Tess on the other hand has my parents wrapped around her finger, knowing that she can most likely get away with an unkempt room. However, by the time my parents needed to instruct Tess with her responsibilities they were too tired. The consequence is the youngest becomes messier than the oldest, leaving destruction wherever she goes. 

From household chores to personal appearance, one of the biggest differences between the oldest and youngest is caring how they look and how others see them. For example, Emma would care about everything, even the smallest things that normal, non-oldest kids, would not think about. She will not leave the house with a hair out of place, must be put together, and look presentable. I´m talking… makeup done, her hair styled, cute clothes, and the whole shabang. In contrast, Tess, would walk out in clothes that bear the dirt of many weeks, her hair not brushed in days, and honestly a bright green face mask on her face with absolutely no care. I haven't decided if this is because my parents never told her that she has to look presentable or if she really doesn't care. The majority of the time my parents won't say anything about what Tess is wearing, in fear of Tess later complaining that she is uncomfortable. On a rare occasion we'll hear them say ¨Tess you need to put something nice on other than black tights and a shirt¨. Appearances aren't the only thing Emma worries about; she also worries what people think of her. Everything she does she thinks that someone is judging her, when really no one is. She could walk out in anything and people would still think she is the most beautiful woman. In contrast, Tess just doesn't care; she knows that if someone looks at her differently because of the way she looks, then they're not worth a minute of her time. However, even though Tess doesn't care and will walk out with her hair not brushed for days, Emma and Tess do share something in common... they will always smell delightful.. It doesn't matter if they just played a long softball game or just swam a swim meet, the first thing they are going to do is spray perfume on themselves so they smell delightful. They also love to have something on their lips. Whether it's Chapstick, lip gloss, or even a lip tint. Their lushes lips need to have something on them. 

My sisters couldn't be more different. Emma and Tess´ simple acts, words, and things that they say separate them. As a middle child these differences are crystal clear and often frustrating. Sometimes I fantasize about pulling out Tess´ hair because she doesn't clean up the bathroom. At the same time, I want to punch Emma in the face because she is telling me I didn't clean the kitchen well enough. The extraordinary differences show their personalities and the traits that I hate and also love about them. I couldn't ask for better sisters, even if they are polar opposites with me somewhere in the middle.