Number 2... and a tattoo?

Alrighty then, blog post number two.

I have always been number two in my family (I'm pretty sure it's because I was born second). And having one older sister and one younger brother, I also suffered from that so called "Middle Child Syndrome". Tiffany got to do everything first, because she was the oldest, and Matthew, being the youngest and the baby of the family, got all the "special treatment".

I was always told to learn from my sister's mistakes. My parents rules always applied to her first. "No boyfriend until you're 16," "no piercings other than you ears," "no tattoos!!!!!," "no drinking," "no smoking," etc. All pretty normal rules for children. Well, since my sister was the oldest, and I seemed to be the "goody-good" as my little brother always referred to me as, Tiffany got the most preaching done to her: "Stand up straight!" Tiffany, being well over six feet tall, was always getting told to stand up straight. No one ever told me, because I wasn't tall enough to be bothered with, and so I developed a slouch (which I've been trying to correct -sits up straighter a little straighter-).

But that's the way it's always been. I would hear my parents telling Tiffany the things she shouldn't/isn't allowed to do, but it was usually directed at her and not myself. Now I know I can't use that as an excuse for what happened on my 19th birthday, but it really sticks out in my mind. When I turned 19 I got a tattoo without telling my parents. Now, it might not seem like that big of a deal- a 19 year old getting a tattoo- but for me it was a big step in establishing my "adult-ism". When I came home and showed my parents, one of the first things they said was, "How many times did we tell Tiffany no tattoos?". Well that's nice, but you never told me no tattoos. Of course I didn't say that to them, but I was definitely thinking it.

But that's all in the past and since then, I think my parents have been more forward with trying to lay down the law, so to speak. I'm 21 now, still living with my parents unfortunately, but plotting my escape. As soon as I can afford it, I will be free.