Reality of an only child

By: Sofia Jimenez

Growing up as an only child was hard. But growing up as an only child and with a single hard working mother was more challenging. Although being an only child was hard it had some good moments. Some good moments were having my own things, being independent, having my mom to myself and never sharing anything. But when things were hard that consisted of, being alone all the time, being too mature and having the stereotype of being a brat. Through all this my mom has worked very hard to give me what I have. My mom is a single parent. She had to sacrifice a lot of quality time for me for her to give me a good life and future.

From the time I was born until now, my mom worked hard every single day from morning till noon to provide for her and myself. My mom never received any help or benefits from things like child support. She had to scratch herself with her own nails. 

My whole childhood my great grandmother took care of me everyday. My mom and great grandparents have lived under the same roof since i was born and still now. My mom would leave me with my great grandmother when she went to work and my great grandmother would feed me, care for me and play with me. Having no siblings meant the adults around me had to entertain me. 

Most of the time the form of entertainment was taking walks. I didn't have any older siblings to take me out with their friends to eat, the mall or any other activity. I was always shy and an introvert in school. I would hardly talk to anyone to make new friends or any friends at all. I was friends with the teachers since adults were the people I was used to talking to. 

My two uncles were the ones to take me out. We would go to malls, parks, cities and vacations. Because of them I experienced all these amazing places. My mom never had time to take me out since she was stuck at work. My mom wanted all of her to spend time with me but first she knew she had to provide. Therefore I would spend time with my uncles and grandparents who were the people who supported me, watched me grow up, and took me as their daughter as well. Even though I had a village growing up, I always felt alone knowing someone wasn't growing alongside me, someone I could relate to, someone I could call my sister or brother. 

Now, as a teenager, being an only child affects me a little more than when I was younger. When I tell people I'm an only child they say how lucky I am. When in reality all I ever want and have wanted is a sibling to share a bond with, someone who is my lifelong best friend. As I'm older I put more thought into being an only child and think about things like how I'm never going to be an aunt and how when my mother leaves this world I will be alone. 

Despite being an only child my bond with my mother is better than ever. In my teenage years I got to bond more with her and now she is my lifelong best friend I never got. Even though she continues to work everyday to give me the best life I can possibly have, I'm happy to say we have balanced our time for her to be there for me while still providing. Growing up I really didn't get any time with her, but now we spend most of our days together. Being independent and mature from a young age resulted in me being the youngest at every table I sit at.