Some of the most important relationships you will develop over the course of your life are those you have with your siblings. The children that share your parents and your roof are the first friends you have. They help you develop social skills, they share most of your life experiences, and, let's be real, they get you in trouble. But what happens when there's a significant age gap between you and your siblings? Here are a few of the things you should expect:
1. You identify with Taylor Swift’s “Never Grow Up."
While I’m personally not a Taylor Swift fan, I can’t help but get emotional whenever this song plays. “I won’t let nobody hurt you, won’t let no one break your heart. And even though you want to, just try to never grow up.” Like, same, Taylor Swift. Me too. But seriously, if this doesn’t give you an overwhelming need to protect your baby siblings from anything and everything, I don’t know what will. And let’s be logical here: everyone is going to grow up, but I just want my siblings to grow up as slowly as possible. Childhood is beautiful and should not be rushed.
2. You’ll stoop to their level and have really immature fights.
Listen to me, no matter how much you want to record that new episode of Scandal, do not erase your brother’s Ben 10 episodes. Trust me. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. Arguing with a 9 year old kid is really hard. No matter what, you’ll always end up losing. Either your mom will get mad at you for being immature and erasing his stuff, or you’ll win, but that only results in making you feel bad for making your kid brother cry because he can’t see his Ben 10. There’s no winning.
3. You’ll remember important milestones like their first steps, words, or even day of birth and it will be wonderful.
It’s amazing to me how close I was to missing my first sibling’s birth. Had I decided that I wanted to stay making tie-dye t-shirts with my girl scout troop instead of going to the hospital for my mom’s weekly checkup, I would have never gotten to meet my brother as soon as he was born. I love being able to remember important moments like that. I’m grateful for the technology we have that also allows us to document our lives. I’m pretty sure in the future my siblings won’t be as grateful for me once I start to pull out all their baby pictures to show to all their friends.
4. You’ll find you self being kept up to date on the latest episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Go Diego Go, and Pokemon XY.
Oh, so you think you have a general knowledge of all the kiddie TV shows? Do not try to fight me, bro. I know the shows, the episodes, the characters, and most of all, the songs. I know all of the songs. If you thought you were done with Dora when you graduated from Nick JR to Disney Channel, you were wrong, my friend.
5. You will learn a lot about responsibility, respect, and generosity.
This is a skill that should be valid on a resume. From picking kids up at soccer practice, to diaper changing, to preparing everyone’s lunch for tomorrow, having kid sibling not only teaches you about responsibility, but you’ll learn that a lot of times the things you do and sacrifices you make go unnoticed by the people you are doing them for. But then you’ll realize that’s exactly what your parents do for you and your degree of respect for them will rise to another level.
6. You’ll find yourself discussing what’s best for them with you parents as though they were your own children.
Being so far away from my siblings while I’m away at college, I want to be kept up to date on everything that they do. Swimming lessons, music classes, martial arts training, I need to know and give my opinion on everything. I want my siblings to be happy and to do the hobbies they like.
7. You will show pictures of them to everyone as if they were your own children.
Take notice of all the pictures spread through this list. There really isn’t anything else that needs to be said. Cute siblings make cute pictures.
8. You will get asked if they are your own children.
The number of times I have been confused for the mother of my siblings is ridiculous. Maybe it’s the look of affection I display when they do something funny. Maybe it’s the way I’m comfortable around my siblings just as they are comfortable with me. Maybe it’s the way I no longer am disgusted by diapers or burps or really anything. In a way, they are my kids. I am very obviously not their parent, but I definitely am an integral part of their upbringing.
9. You find yourself looking forward to the years when they’re your current age because you want to be able to give them the advice you wish you could receive now.
As I spend my summer in NYC, I can’t help but get excited to see how my siblings will be doing when they’re my age. What will they study? Where will they go? Will they come live with me for the summer when they get their own summer internships? I want to be there for them; give them all the advice that I’m receiving now. While it is really difficult to live far away from them now, I’m excited to make up for that and bond with them in the future.
10. They inspire you to be the best you can be because you know they’ll always look up to you.
My brothers and sister are always in the back of my mind no matter where I go or what I do. I know that to them I’ll always be a public figure. I know that as the big sister, they should be able to have an example of a good daughter, a good student, and an overall good person. They make me want to be all this and more for them. At the end of the day, I owe my siblings just as much, if not more than they owe me.
