I Gave My Little Brother My Video Game Time

So, here's the thing. I'm the middle sibling in my family of four, my oldest sister is a total overachiever who's always been the golden child and my younger brother is just... well, he’s adorable but incredibly spoiled by everyone. I’m stuck somewhere in between. Ever since we got that new Nintendo Switch for Christmas last year, my little brother has been pestering me constantly to play it together. He’s great at Mario Kart and some other games, but lately he’s been asking me to do all the story modes on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. At first, I was willing to help him out because it's fun and we get along pretty well most days. But recently, with midterms approaching, I’ve had less time to myself. Despite this, my brother kept bugging me about playing together during our rare free moments. Last week, he finally got on my nerves after pestering me the entire Sunday morning while I was trying to study for a test. I snapped at him and told him point-blank that if he wanted to play the story mode so badly, he could buy his own copy of Breath of the Wild 2. He looked heartbroken and almost started crying right there in front of everyone. My parents immediately jumped down my throat for being mean to my little brother. I felt terrible afterward but didn’t have enough energy left to console him or smooth things over. I ended up spending an hour apologizing later that day, but the damage was done. It’s funny how such a small thing can feel like a huge transgression when you’re a middle child and already used to being overlooked. So here's my confession: I was selfish and insensitive towards my little brother because I didn’t want him ruining my study time. But now that I’ve had some space to think about it, I know deep down I shouldn't have snapped like that, especially not with all the support he has for gaming. It’s a small thing, but it felt big in our household.