11 Reasons Why The Middle Child Is Actually The Strongest Child

In a statement that will surprise 100 percent of nobody, let me just say the middle child gets the sh*t end of the stick in literally everything.

We middle children are never "cool," never the ones the little kids look up to. And we also can't be cute babies who get away with everything.

We're just the plain, not-so-special middle children. Not the oldest, not the youngest -- just… blah.

But we middle children know that we're the strongest of them all. We had to fight the good fight when we were younger. We got nothing easily. We never got away with sh*t, and crying wasn't going to keep us from being grounded.

Middle children of the world, unite! We all know we're part of the same family. Like Jan in "The Brady Bunch," we may be unappreciated and constantly put down, but we're the most badass.

Oldest siblings and youngest siblings: You don't even know the struggle.

You try being in our (hand-me-down) shoes for a day and see how it feels to have to work for EVERYTHING.

Shout-out to all the middle children out there. You are the raddest.

Here are 11 reasons why the middle child is actually the strongest:

1. We were compared to our older sibling in everything we did.

At the same time, we were never treated like the baby. We were never spoiled like our younger sibling, but we never got the responsibility of the oldest.

It was the worst of all worlds! Everything the older sibling did was considered “amazing,” “mesmerizing” and “fantastic.”

As a middle child, you're just lucky if Mom remembered to sign you up for ballet class, let alone came to the recitals. You're used to rolling your eyes every time your older sibling is praised and you're overshadowed.

2. Anything a middle child does is 'rebellious.'

Even if it's something as simple and semi-innocent as wearing a crop top or breaking curfew by eight minutes, everything you did was rebellion.

Your parents constantly accused you of acting out, even when you're literally doing nothing that would get your other siblings in trouble.

You're always grounded, because your mom and dad used you to "make an example." You're used to being the annoying "problem child."

3. We got the short end of the stick, so we are goddamn resilient.

All middle children are well aware that it is our lot in life to receive the short end of the proverbial stick. We're on our own in most things. We're regularly the butt of every joke, and our siblings like to gang up on us.

No matter the situation, we're used to things not going our way. Therefore, the middle child is a resilient beast.

We don't crumble under pressure (like the baby of the family), nor are we prone to getting a big head (like our older siblings). We're just strong and grounded AF.

Yeah, Jan, you know Marsha was just an as*hole.

4. We're constantly overlooked, so we're really good at adapting.

“Wow! That middle child is a superstar! She really makes those other siblings look lame!” – something that has never been said.

When you're a middle child, you are used to never being noticed. You become the chameleon of all social situations. You're flexible and easygoing, so you can get with any crew.

Though most people think that middle children are actually followers, we're actually leaders.

We're used to forming our groups ourselves. We get along with all kinds of people, so we have friends from all walks of life.

5. We take sh*t from people above and below us.

When you're constantly dealing with an older sibling who's being a jerk and a younger sibling who's a pain the a*s, you learn how to handle your sh*t.

You have it coming from every level. You better know who you are and what you stand for really quickly when you're stuck in the middle seat.

You may be sitting in the bitch seat on this ride called life, but you're not going to be anyone's bitch.

6. We can hold our own in an argument.

A middle child doesn't f*ck around when it comes to fighting. We're used to being the one who takes the bullsh*t, so we know how to handle it. When you grow up in a constant argument with SOMEONE, you're bound to know how to handle one.

Middle children are the strongest adults because we know how to end things in our favor.

7. A middle child has the most cultivated personality.

Middle children work the hardest for literally everything. You know what is going to force you to develop a personality? Being a f*cking middle child.

When you're not praised constantly or fawned over for being "the baby" -- when you're just kind of floating around without notice -- you're forced to make people pay attention to you.

Middle children are the ones with the most pizzazz. We had no choice. When you're a middle child, you basically have to jump into the deep end or sit in the background. No one is going to do it for you.

8. We don't have a lot of bargaining chips with the parents.

There is something about being a middle child that will always leave you with very little leverage with the folks.

We didn't have the “But I'm the oldest!” line -- and we certainly couldn't say, “But I'm your baby!” We were just the vanilla ice cream of boring children —right smack-dab in the middle of things.

We had to become the expert negotiators, relying heavily on logic rather than our cuteness or “responsible natures.” Therefore, the middle child makes the best executive and CEO.

We know how to get what we want through the power of rational argument, strategy and cunning.

9. Middle children have to fight for what they want.

We're never handed anything. Nothing ever comes easily. If you want something as a middle child, you better be willing to fight tooth and nail for it.

We learn very quickly what is and what isn't worth fighting for. We appreciate the things we win -- we worked so hard to get them, after all. We never expect anything. We straight-up earn everything.

10. We know how to share EVERYTHING.

Middle children are the best at sharing, because we were never allowed to have things of our own. We're either inheriting or passing along hand-me-downs.

Nothing is ever bright, shiny or new. What is mine is yours. We don't put a lot of value on material things. We know what is important in life.

Don't you get down on yourself, Ron! I FEEL YOU.

11. Praise is nothing we are used to getting.

Bright side: We're never the worst at anything. But we're also never the best at it.

We will always have a fabulous older brother or sister to set the bar high. And we'll always have a younger sibling who will get away with sh*t that would have us murdered.

Middle children missed out on all the praise. Your parents gave the best of themselves to the first child, got bored with you and then attempted to atone for their mistakes with you by over-focusing on the youngest child.

A middle child doesn't get off on being told how special or wonderful he or she is. We make people see our worth through our strengths. The only praise we need is our own.