Hi Brandon,
I have a REALLY big problem. I’m a guy and have FIVE girls that live with me! My mom, my grandma, and my three sisters!!! To be honest dude, I know WAY too much about Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift. And Dork Diaries! I’m writing to you on this website because my sisters are OBSESSED! What should I do? I need some boys around! HELP!!
Boy Bugging Out
What’s Up Boy Bugging Out
Okay, soooo…I mean…look on the bright side. To a lot of guys, girls are a TOTAL mystery. But you probably understand them way better than most! It might not feel like an advantage now, but I bet it will in a few years. 😀
For now though, it sounds rough. (Not the Dork Diaries part, though. I mean, I happen to think Dork Diaries is great for girls AND boys! You could also check out my best buddy’s series, The Misadventures Of Max Crumbly for a guy’s point of view.) I can imagine you always feel like the odd one out, and maybe you want to have someone around who you can relate to more. It doesn’t mean you don’t love or appreciate your mom, grandma or even your sisters. But we all want people who understand us in our lives, right?
The thing about family is…we’re sort of stuck with the one we’ve got. I don’t know if you’ll convince your mom to adopt a brother into the family or convince your grandma to marry that cute old guy from her bingo night and bring him home.
So, I think there are two reasonable things that might help.
- Make sure you get some guy time apart from your family. That might mean making an effort to hang with your guy friends more often (and if you can’t meet in person, you could always try a virtual meetup). Or maybe join a club or something that’s mostly male, to get some quality male-bonding time. Talk to your mom about wanting to connect with more dudes—she might arrange for guy family friends like an uncle or other male influences to hang out with you if she realizes it’s that important to you.
- Make sure your opinions and needs are heard. Speak up and let your family know when you need some guy time or space. Maybe once a week is Guys Night and you get control of the remote, or dinner is devoted to guy stuff you want to tell them about.
Like I said, you can’t change the family you have. And it’s good to look on the bright side of your situation. But you can let your family know when you’re frustrated or need something to change. And hey, girls are often pretty good at talking about feelings!
Do you get frustrated with your family situation – being an only child, having a ton of siblings, being the youngest/oldest, or whatever bugs you? How do you deal with it? Tell us in the comments.