Having a younger sibling is difficult at times. It forces you to learn to share everything at a young age — toys, games, even parents. Younger siblings are loud, obnoxious, and immature at times which can lead to countless fights between you two. They can push you to limits of patience you never thought you could reach, and then push further. And yet, sometimes they can even be your best friend. Here are six things that happen when your younger sibling is your best friend.
1. You always have someone on your side.
Remember that time when it felt like the whole world was against you? When it felt like you were all alone? Maybe all of your “friends” ditched you. Maybe your parents were yelling at you for a bad grade on a test. Maybe you were just having a bad day where everything seemed to go wrong. Well I’m sure you had at least one person on your side — the person who has looked up to you since the day they were born. Even if your sibling didn’t say it, he or she was probably on your side cheering silently and proud as hell when you succeeded.
2. You always have someone to talk to.
I don’t know about you, but my little brother is a strangely good listener. If I’m having a rough day or just need someone to talk to, he’s always there and I know he won’t tell anyone. It’s always great to have someone to talk to and know that he or she will never tell anyone and even offer some advice which is usually pretty good — even if you don’t want it at the time.
3. You always have someone to blame.
Remember that time you stole all of the cookies from the cabinet? Or that time you forgot to clean up after making yourself a snack? Well, who better to take the fall for it than a younger sibling? You’re older than them which means you have “superiority” and earned the right to blame them for the little things that you do. Right? Of course, your sibling will tell your parents it wasn’t him/her and probably yell at you until an argument starts and you confess.
4. You always have someone to share experiences with.
One of the best parts of being an older sibling is being able to share your experiences with your younger sibling. Passing down your own knowledge so that he or she will hopefully not make the same mistakes as you (like that time you accidentally dyed your hair bright red) is one of the biggest rewards of being older and (hopefully) wiser. Right now, my younger brother is starting to look at schools and is asking me about different colleges and the application process and I love helping him with it. Although sometimes your sibling may get annoyed with your constant “nagging” (or “life lessons” as I like to call it), he or she will probably thank you in the future when they learned from your mistakes.
5. You always have someone to be proud of.
Even though you’ve tried to give “life lessons” to your sibling, they will make their own mistakes and have their own struggles. It’s hard to watch your sibling go through it, but he or she has to. But when your sibling succeeds at whatever struggles he or she is facing, there is no greater feeling of pride than seeing the smile on their face. Even if it is something as simple as making the Honor Roll in high school after a really hard semester, or finally beating his new video game. Because you know your sibling has succeeded, you couldn’t be prouder.
6. You always have a best friend.
People come in and out of your life all the time. But your sibling is someone you’re stuck with. That’s not always a bad thing, though, because then you have someone who will talk to you, watch YouTube videos with you until 4:00 a.m., hang out with you when you’re bored, and someone who is your best friend. And the best part is that you probably live with this person so your best friend is only a room away when you want someone to take a drive to get food with at the most obscure times. Having a younger sibling is difficult and we have definitely had our fair share of fights. Although having a dog instead would be nice at times, I wouldn’t trade my younger brother in for the world.
