Growing up with a big family is interesting. I have eight siblings and one can only imagine what it's like. There are no twins but my brother and I are Irish twins, I was born in January 1998 and he was born in December 1998. Since we are all pretty close in age we are famous in all the public schools in our home town. Living in a big family has taught me that once teachers know your last name they will never forget. Lucky for me I was the first to go through the schools so I guess you could say I set the bar for the rest of my siblings. Another thing I learned living with a big family that having friends over is tricky, tricky as in that friend needs to be comfortable around chaos. Ever heard of a Polish intercom? Another thing that I learned is that food goes fast, with that being said "first come first served" has a whole new meaning to me.

I could go on and on about living with a big family, like don't expect a lot of privacy and how whenever something is spilled or missing no one knows who did it. However, those are all little things compared to what I really learned. I learned that even if they hate you at times your siblings will always have your back. I also learned that if I ever need anything that I can go to them for help. I learned all you need in life is your family, everyone else are extra. I learned that you may not get along with them all the time and when you do you can have a lot of fun. Living with a big family not only means you're never alone, but it means that you have a lot of support. I wouldn't trade my support system for anything in the world. When times are tough we stick together. We may seem dysfunctional but I can assure you we function incredibly.

My siblings and I are all different. I'm good at math and teaching. The next sibling in line is really good at mechanics and football. The next one after that is really good at football as well. My oldest sister is good at gymnastics, and cheerleading. My next brother is really good at making friends and baseball. The three youngest girls are very talented for their age, but they are still young. My parents are hard working and supportive.They may doubt their parenting, but they are doing their best and I wish they saw that. As crazy as life gets you only have one family and I can assure you I couldn't have chosen a better one to call mine. Eight siblings seems like a lot, but it doesn't feel that way. Yeah there are days where you can't find the remote, someone is in a bad mood and someone ate the last brownie but when it comes down to it who cares?