3 Life Lessons Growing Up in a Big Family Taught Me

Surprise! I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers, that makes 7 kids total. Growing up in a big family, I learned a lot about the real world. Although I didn't always understand the importance of family as a child, I get it now. My parents forced us to play together, to apologize and even spanked us together to ensure that we were all team players. That's the crazy thing about life, you don't always understand what it's teaching you until you have to apply what you've learned. Below are three life lessons growing up in a big family taught me!

Stand Out
You can't possibly fade into the background when there are multiple children. Each child has a distinct place in the family. Much like any team, each player has a distinct set of skills to execute their role for the ultimate team goal which is usually to win. In my family we played on each strengths, like; organizing, hair braiding, mathematics, etc. Whatever you're good at, get even better and teach the people around you! Standing out means being knowledgable and accessible to teach!

There is Strength in Numbers
We were only as strong as our weakest link, meaning the family as a whole can only go as far as the person who has the most weight. I learned to carry my weight at a young age, more like when my mom gave each one of us a day to wash the dishes or sit in the front seat of the car. Because there was a gang of children, I never had to play alone or clean the kitchen everyday or even go to concerts alone. Family and friends are important. Nobody can make it alone and you have to make it up in your mind that your tribe is going to be the best that it can possible be starting with you.

Support is a 2-way Street
I loooooooove it when my siblings and parents support me. I never gave much thought to supporting them as a kid because I was selfish. Support means attending important events (baby sis always comes through), sending encouraging texts (my brother does a great job of this), etc. People matter and sometimes a simple, "You did great!" goes a long way. Have you ever wanted support from someone special only to find that they weren't willing to give it or didn't know how? If you don't know how to support the people you care about, ask them.

Thank you for reading and staying to the end. I hope that this post inspired you to do some self-reflection and ultimately become better! I'm obsessed with my family and forever grateful for all of the lessons I've learned and will continue to learn from them.

What lessons have you learned from your family? What has being an adult taught you about the real world? Share below!

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