Being first in your family to try something means walking a road with no map. Draw one for whoever’s next.

Going first means every ordinary step costs extra, because nobody at your kitchen table can tell you what the form means or what the week will feel like. You end up learning the slow way things other people were simply told. None of that is a deficit in you. It is the difference between having a map and making one.

Keep notes as you go, even rough ones: the deadline that surprised you, the person who turned out to be helpful. Pass them to a cousin or a younger sibling when they get there. The second person through has a much easier walk, and you are the reason.