Every holiday, every birthday, and sometimes just on extra-needy days as a kid I would ask my parents for a sister. With three younger brothers, I wanted nothing else but to have another girl in the house to play Barbies with me and to count as another vote towards watching "Hannah Montana" over WWE Wrestling. But then, as I grew older and wiser, I realized sisters aren’t really something that my parents could just throw in a box and give me to satisfy my five-year old needs. With that ground-breaking realization I also learned that maybe I didn’t really need a sister. And now, I couldn’t be happier that a Christmas never came where a sister package was under my tree because having brothers changes someone’s life. And now, living in a building with about fourty other girls -I've learned that girls with brothers are different, here's how:
First of all, girls with brothers are physically tougher. These girls are regularly tackled into couches or hit by flying objects that were thrown at them, so naturally they develop thick skin. They also learn how to fight back. Girls with brothers know that screaming, shrieking, or complaining will be anything but effective, and, even though they may resort to that sometimes, they instead learn that tackling back or executing a perfect headlock would be much more beneficial. But, in the real world, such physicality is usually frowned upon -however, maintaining that think skin can get these girls through anything.
Girls with brothers can take a joke. With brothers you learn that guys joke around differently than girls. What’s funny to them will almost always seem stupid and petty to typical girls. However, growing up around all of that testosterone eventually instills that same sense of humor in boys’ sisters – which is okay, because that makes hanging with the guys so much more enjoyable.
Having brothers also makes a girl more dateable. Even though any potential suitor will need to undergo a series of intense questioning, and tests administered by protective brothers, any guy who makes it through will definitely, I hope, find it worth it. I mean girls with sisters are beautiful in wonderful in their own ways. But girls who have brothers have more realistic expectations of guys than girls who only have sisters. They understand that guys aren’t fairy-tale characters and that their minds just aren’t concerned with little things that girls are. These girls will appreciate the little things the guys do because these little gestures will stick out to them as much as an Eagles fan would stick out in Dallas. (They also know sports!)
Girls with brothers will also not differentiate the two sexes as distinctly as other people. From growing up playing football with them, to learning the same things they do, and to engaging in constant competition, girls eventually learn that they can do practically anything that their brothers, or any boys, can do. This makes these girls less dependent later in life and determined to not let any societal standards to stand in their way – they’ve spent their whole life competing with boys and won’t give that fight up easily.
Most importantly, girls with brothers will be able to love anyone unconditionally and wholeheartedly because they have spent their whole life doing so for some very important guys.
Loving brothers is as natural as an emotion can be, but also takes more patience, more understanding, and more forgiveness than anything else will ever demand of someone. But, as strenuous as the process may be, loving a brother is the most rewarding thing a girl can do. Really, who needs sisters when they have brothers?