For 11 years of my life I was an only child. Of course it had wonderful perks such as, getting whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, freedom, all the attention in the world, this list could go on forever. Being an only child was great however, it was lonesome. For those 11 years I wished for a baby sister. God decided to give me a brother first which was a blessing, then two years later he gave me a sister which was another blessing. When you’re a big sister, you’re a second mom. I love being a big sister.

1. You become a free babysitter.

When my parents have something to do guess who automatically has to arrange their schedule and babysit? Me! Which is good for my parents because babysitters cost a fortune. They have enough expenses, and lucky for them a babysitter cost is not one of them.

2. You gain skills that can help you with motherhood.

Being a big sister makes you change as a person. You begin to do parent duties such as feed your siblings, change their diapers, teach them how to walk, etc. Since I helped raise two siblings, I know what works in parenting and what doesn’t. I can use that knowledge with my own future children.

3. You get honest opinions even if you don’t ask for them.

I can’t even begin to say a number of times I have put on an outfit and my siblings have asked me “what are you wearing?”. If I’m doing something weird, my siblings have no shame in telling me that it’s weird, and I should stop. Friends lie to you, but siblings never will!

4. They boost your confidence.

If I’m wearing something nice, or my makeup is on point my siblings will compliment me. My sister always tells me that I’m pretty. They make me feel special.

5. You get to relieve your childhood.

I get to watch cartoons and my excuse is “I have siblings.” I get to play with dolls, Play-Doh, Legos, and many other toys I grew up playing with again.

6. They never fail to make you laugh.

To me, my siblings are the funniest people on this planet. They do and say silly things that brighten my day.

7. Horsing around.

My brother and I wrestle and rough house often, and it usually ends with our mom yelling at us but that’s okay!

8. You have people to make memories with.

Most of my childhood memories involve just my parents and I. Now that we are a family of 5, my memories involve and contain more people. When we go on family vacations, the memories we make are beautiful. Even simple everyday activities become memorable.

9. You become their transportation.

Sometimes when my siblings have somewhere to go, like taekwondo class or an event at school I become their chauffeur, which is great because they have good taste in music.

10. Siblings make you proud.

Since I’m a lot older, I can teach my siblings things I’ve learned because of life. I watched them both grow from babies wearing diapers crawling around our house, into big kids exceeding in elementary school, and I can honestly say I’M PROUD!

11. Being mistaken for their mother.

Whenever I go to pick my siblings up from school some of their friends say “Are you his mom? Are you her mom?” I kindly explain I’m their big sister. Same thing happens at stores too.

12. You never will be alone.

My siblings text and FaceTime me from their iPads all the time, and they are drawn to my room whether I’m home or not. Even when I’m no longer living with them, I know we will still be close.

13. You’re their role model.

If I got a dollar for every time my sister copied me I’d be a billionaire. If I don’t like the color orange, then she doesn’t like it either. If I don’t like mustard, then neither does she. Since siblings copy everything you do, you have to carry yourself differently because, they are watching everything you do. You wouldn’t want to be the reason why they become corrupted.

14. You mean the world to them.

I’m important to my siblings, and they love me. They tell me they miss me a lot, and talk to their friends about me. They look forward to spending time with me.

15. It’s just fun being a big sister!

I love everything about being a big sister, and wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. My only child life was fantastic, but my new life with a little brother and little sister is much better.