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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Irish |
Are there any youngest children here? Any babies of the family? I am the youngest of 4. Which never seemed like a big deal to me: given that my mum is one of 8, her mum was one of 12 and so on... Typical Irish families. |
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Birth order |
Over the years, I've become more and more obsessed with birth order. How where we sit in the family hierarchy plays a pretty big part in our personality ; our temperament.
There has, of course, been a lot of research into birth order. what it means to be the eldest, the youngest, the middle child.
So: I'm going to explore how each of those played out in my family. |
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Oldest |
They say the oldest child tends to be the responsible one: the helper. Technically my brother is the oldest, and may be it's because he's the only boy: this trait skipped him..
Either way, it did show up in my oldest sister, who I would always go to if I needed help or advice.
Like the time I was concerned there might be sheletons living under the floor boards. She reassured me by taking measurements of my skull and convincing me a skeleton simply wouldn't fit.
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Middle |
The middle child is often seen as the attention seeker - the life and soul of the party. Definitely true for my next sister in-line. She was always putting on performances and dressing us up like Egyptian Mummys or Victorian peasants-we didn't have much in the way of costumes back then. She was actually very resistant to giving up her spotlight when I came along. The week I was born, her schoolteacher asked if her mummy had the baby yet. My sister replied: NO. |
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1-Rebel |
So the youngest... We're just perfect in every way right? Oh... maybe net. For one: we're seen as the rebels. We do this as a way of distinguishing ourselves from our older brothers and sisters. |
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2-Risks + Career |
We're also more likely to take risks and often choose a career that is different from other members of our family.
1 definitely fit the stereotype here.
I went to art school, I chose a career as a designer, then I quit my stable job and flew to Japan.
This came as quite a shock to those around me-I didn't have any work lined up for my return, or much in the way of savings.
It was also my fist time travelling solo - and spoke no Japanese.
But, it all worked out for the best, I had an incredible time, returned home safely, still can't speak any Japanese and I'm still playing the creative rebel.
Nowadays I do this online, with my coaching business and membership program for fellow creative introverts. |
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3-Spoilt |
We're also the spoilt ones. We're used to getting our own way.
Can you blame us? For myself. there were plenty of toys to play with, books to read, by the time I came along.
l benefitted from all the hand-me-downs, plus, My parents were slightly better off by this point.
Because of this I expected quite a lot from life.
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Expectations |
To this day I expect a lot- from myself, from those around me: from the universe. But I have learnt that it won't come without me putting in the work. It isn't as easy as it was as a child. I can't just throw a temper tantrum anymore to get what I want. I've learned to grow up, take respensibility. Yes, I'm still demanding and have high expectations: but now I know I have to meet those through my own, positive actions. |
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4-Quiet |
My biggest struggle as the youngest in the litter though, was and is, being heard. Being seen. My older siblings could talk, walk, run, read..-all before l could . They were louder than me. Smarter than me. |
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Trivial |
To this day, I still have nightmares every Christmas when Trivial Pursuit gets pulled out. How isa 6 year old meant to know the chemical symbol of Helium? Anyway, I took a book seat in many ways. I let them entertain me,. teach me. |
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Introvert |
Only in my adult years have I learnt that I need to step up and speak up if I want to be seen and heard. To get where I want to be, I need to put in the effort.
Like I mentioned earlier: I am a total Introvert.
I get my energy from being alone, making art, in my studio.
But, you can't get very far in this world without help from others.
Without showing my work to others. Without asking for help from others. |
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Why |
That's what brought me here tonight. I'm here to learn the skills I need in order to get to where I want to be. That inner child in me - the spoilt one, the demanding one-is still the driving force. It's the whiny voice in my head that insists there is nothing stopping me from getting where I want to be. But now, it's up to me to do something about it. Thank You Toastmaster!
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