What's your role in your family?

I lied down on the carpeting of the nursery, where the sun that shone through the large window in the room brightened spots on the carpet and made it warm. I stayed in the room for hours upon end, only moving when the warm spots shifted as the sun moved across the sky.

The nursery is just off of the master bedroom at the back of the house I grew up in. It was a small room with barely anything in it, and one big window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. When I was young, I would often find new ways to entertain myself in this room. I drew pictures, wrote down what was on my mind, wrote songs, and played games on pbskids.org. I could stay there by myself for an entire day. During those times, I learned how to be alone.

On the contrary, when my parents weren’t working, I received all of their attention, and I was also given a lot of responsibility. My parents never made me feel like I couldn’t try things because I was a child. I started helping with the family business when I was six. I remember when they took me to a conference in Tennessee, and I worked at a table there selling products. One person, who saw that I was working long hours, even said that they were going to call Child Services. But I didn’t mind working seven hours every day—I enjoyed it. I was used to spending time with myself, and I loved the responsibility. Seven hours felt like nothing at all. After I’d made up a couple games to play and drawn a few pictures, the time passed very quickly. I am amazed now in the faith they had in me, and I feel very fortunate for that.

While I was given opportunities and attention, I was also expected to succeed, or at least I expected myself to. I have always felt the responsibility as their only child to make them proud. That helped me to develop a competitive nature and desire to constantly improve, which is a defining characteristic of my personality today.

Being an only child comes with extremes. At times I was the center of attention, while at other times, I was alone. I was spoiled with responsibility, but felt pressure to use it well.

I have always liked being an only child. Most of the people I’ve talked to, whether they are an only child or have siblings, would agree that they liked being what they were. It’s difficult to imagine how different your life would be the other way around. Can you? I would have loved to have someone to grow up with, confide in, and to be my best friend, but I can’t imagine my role in my family being any different. Being an only child shaped who I am.