As far back as I can remember, growing up as an older sister with my younger brother has been nothing less than a struggle. However, once I moved away to college I realized how much he really impacted my life for the better. Aside from all of the fights and disagreements, my brother and I have shared laughs and quality time together that I took for granted.
Here's five reasons why having a younger brother is actually a good thing:
1. He makes you a better person.
Once I was old enough to realize that my brother looked up to me, the pressure was on. I felt the need to make the best decisions in any given situation. Simple things like cleaning up around the house or not having a bad attitude were decisions I made with the thought of being a good role model in mind.
2. He teaches you the definition of family.
Obviously, everyone is born into their family without a choice, but my brother taught me you do have the choice to make the family bond even stronger. Whether it was learning how to be supportive by choosing to go to every single wrestling tournament even at 7 a.m. or learning how to be considerate by choosing to not take extremely long showers so there would be warm water leftover, having a close relationship with my brother was learned through little acts of kindness.
3. He makes you smarter.
There are two ways in which my brother does this. The first was doing homework together. For example, if he needed help in math going over the material together would be a nice refresher for me. The second is him continually keeping me updated on all the new trends. We are only two years apart, but he reminds me which topics are still relevant and which have passed to be irrelevant (you would be surprised how big of a difference two years makes).
4. He teaches you how to be tough.
He is like the older brother I never had. He has always been stronger than me, and when he did not get his way I was constantly reminded of that. Throughout the years, my pain tolerance has significantly increased.
5. He makes you proud.
I still remember tearing up at his kindergarten "graduation". Since then, his accomplishments have been more valuable and even more emotional. I have witnessed him fail, try again, and ultimately succeed. It is through not only these achievements, but also these failures that he has grown into the young adult he is, and I could not be more proud of him.
Being the older sister to a younger brother has undoubtedly had its ups and downs. Nonetheless, I am who I am today because of our experiences growing up together, and I would not want it any other way.
