In Honor of April 10th being National Sibling's Day, here are 10 reasons as to why you should thank your siblings for teaching you the life lessons that they have and for playing the roles that they do.

1. They taught you unconditional love

It is likely that your siblings are the only people on the planet who can love you to the moon and back one second, hate you the next, but still love you more than anyone does at any given time. Even in the middle of your ugliest fights, worst verbal attacks, and moments of torment and abuse from each other, your siblings probably still love you the very most.

2. They embrace your differences

Generally speaking, siblings are either outrageously similar to each other or they are absolute, polar opposites from one another. The athletes, the brainiacs, the prom queens, the tech nerds, the drama queens, the Honor-roll regulars, the "barely-clinging-to-C's" students, extraverts, and introverts alike, can all be united by one thing; "siblingship". Let's be honest, we don't always agree with our siblings, their personalities, hobbies, values, and their life choices, but we are generally pretty willing to look past it, because we love them. We tend to choose to embrace the variety and differences that our individual personalities bring to our families.

3. You created your own Fight Club

Whether you were on the giving or receiving end of an ass-kickin', you fought hard and you know it. As siblings, you know the first rule to Fight Club, "you do not talk about fight club". Our siblings taught us to bring UFC, WWE, MMA, Karate Kid, and the Rocky movies to real life on the daily. Whether it was a pile drive off the couch, a choke hold in the kitchen, or a poke to the eye while passing in the hallway, it wasn't talked about unless someone was broken, bleeding, or barfing. Thank your siblings for making you a fighter, it'll come in handy someday on the field, court, in the bar, or in the school yard when you're standing up for something you believe in.

4. Competition has become a way of life

One doughnut left? Eat it before your brother/sister can. Shotgun seat is up for grabs? Run faster and shove harder than your brother/sister. Who is the favorite child? Vote for yourself until the argument has ended (although the favorite child argument never ends). Who is more athletic? Who is smarter? Who gets the bigger bedroom in the new house? The competitions are endless. Thank them for giving you your competitive spirit in all you do.

5. You have forever friends

Thank your siblings for being stuck in a forever friendship with you. They're the ones who will always have your back when you feel as if the weight of the world is on your shoulders and everyone else has better things to do.

6. They helped you find your place

They helped you to find your personal role within the siblings, the family, your friends, and school/work. You probably established your position in the ranks as the leader, the follower, the fighter, the peacemaker, the rebel, the "goody two shoes", or maybe you realized you don't fit into any of those, you might be a combination of a few. Regardless of your role, it's likely that your siblings found theirs because of you and you because of them.

7. You became an alliance

If the bigger kids on the playground were beating you up or the mean girls had made one snide comment too many, you knew who to talk to about it and rely on to handle it. If you're the oldest, your younger siblings gave you someone to look after, nurture, and learn from. If you're the youngest, you were given a protector and ally in whatever situation it may be. The alliance works both ways though, you all just rely on and team up with each other when necessary. When you don't feel like you can fight for yourself, you'll always have someone on the sidelines who is ready to go up to bat for you against the bullies, the ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, the overreacting parent, or the ex-friend.

8. You're actually the absolute worst

Refer back to the previously listed reasons and you'll know why your siblings aren't afraid to tell you when you're actually being the absolute worst person of all time. Siblings taught you that honesty is the best (sometimes hard, but always best) policy there is. Having one or more individuals who aren't afraid to offend you, hurt your feelings, or tick you off is so important because sometimes we need to just hear the truth. We need people who can effectively put us back in our place when we desperately need it but the rest of the world is afraid to tell us. Thank your siblings for stepping up to the plate and taking the heat when they have to handle the backlash from you for awhile.

9. They hold you accountable

Remember when you were in high school and you were terrified that your parents would find out that you snuck out, got an "F" in a class, drank a beer, skipped class, or quit the team? Setting a good example and only doing the things that you'd want your siblings to be doing is the way that they inadvertently hold you accountable. When we fail to meet our normal standards, mess up, and make mistakes, at least we have those experiences to share and let them learn from. Nobody is perfect, but holding yourself accountable for the sake of your siblings is motivation enough to stay out of trouble, go to school, get some sort of higher education, start a career, and make something out of yourself, because that's what you want for them too. You want them to see all of the opportunities that life has to offer so that they can figure out what they want to do with theirs.

10. They forced you to love someone

The moment you were born, the family dynamic changed for everyone. Either you were the younger sibling just coming into the world, or you were the older sibling who was no longer the star of the show. Regardless of your birth order, you were no longer alone. You were given this individual who will forever love you, support you, and push you to reach your full potential. I can't guarantee you won't have a few arguments and fall outs along the way, but time has a funny way of fixing everything. Sibling love can conquer all things and make you feel a little less alone in this big world. Thank your siblings for being born and forcing you to love someone and truly care about their well being. Being a sibling makes you a little less selfish, a little more giving, and a lot more loving (until there's only one cupcake left, then all bets are off).