I was the youngest. My half sister is 8 years older and still lives with my parents and her daughter at the age of 32. She’s also addicted to narcotics and, while currently clean, has a history of stealing pills from both my mom and my grandmother, who had cancer at the time. My step-brother is about 28 and is currently in prison for kidnapping, attempted burglary, among other things. He spent his adolescence in gangs and generally being a pain in my parents’ asses.
I was the baby and I was a good kid (a bit of a goodie two shoes, in fact), so I was spoiled by everyone. I ended up being the only one in my family to go to college, move out at 21, and never go back. I’m the only one that got married, bought a home, and landed a well-paying job. No drug or alcohol use; I’ve never even smoked a cigarette. I’m sort of the black sheep in the family because I ended up so vastly different from the others. On one hand, they’re proud of me for being independent and not causing them grief. On the other hand, they think I’m a bit selfish and lack compassion because I stay out of all of their drama and want nothing to do with it.
I think I turned out fine, but I’m not sure how. I could say the same for my husband – he’s the only one of 5 kids that ended up doing anything worthwhile. One got pregnant at 17 and is currently living with her flavor of the month, pawning her daughter off on whoever will take her. One that actually had potential ended up buying a house with an alcoholic that has acted out while drunk and lost the respect of the entire family – not sure if he’s ever lashed out at her, but she defends him tooth and nail. One has 4 kids he can’t afford, 3 with a woman he doesn’t even like; he gave one kid up and lives with this girl and the other 3 kids at her parents’ house. The last one is just a bum, living with his girlfriend’s parents and refusing to move on from his shit job. And, of course, my husband is considered stuck up because he got out of that hell and his life doesn’t revolve around them and their trailer park lives.