When I was little, the only thing I wanted in this world more than candy was a sister. I saw my brothers and saw how they just got each other on a different level and wanted that for myself too. I thought that it would be so much fun to have another girl in the house, someone who I could paint nails with, share clothes with and gossip about how annoying the boys were being. Sadly enough, that didn’t happen and I was stuck being the sole sister in a house filled with men (minus my mother of course). In the moment, I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have brothers, and I guess now I’m starting to realize more and more how much they have impacted me. Girls who have brothers are a different breed. You have an inside look into how boys really are and have learned a substantial amount of lessons along the way.
Tough Skin. The first lesson in growing up with brothers is being able to get made fun of and not just running and crying to your parents. Brothers will say the most heinous things to you and you’ll often be left wondering why the heck they’re acting like this. Believe it or not, there’s a method to their madness. The meaner they are to you, the less other peoples’ nonsense will affect you in the real world. People could be throwing you shade left and right and you’ll just be so indifferent to it all because your brothers (aware of this or not) were preparing you for this all along.
Brutal Honesty. This kind of piggybacks off of having tough skin. Normally brothers have absolutely zero filters. They’ll tell you exactly what’s on their mind regardless of your feelings on the matter. I guess this is good and I guess this is also bad, depending on how you look at it. I know when I ask my brothers for their opinions on anything I’m going to get a straightforward answer. I’d so much rather them do this then beat around the bush. This is a mentality that I’ve taken with me and applied to pretty much every aspect of my life.
The ability to get ready quickly. I know for a fact that if I take more than 30 minutes to get ready there will be hell to pay. I’ll get bombarded with questions like, “Who are you trying to impress?” and “Why are you taking so long?” or an obnoxious banging on the bathroom door while I’m trying to get ready. The ridicule is so terrible that in order to alleviate problems before they even happen, I’ve become a pro at getting ready in no time. This has proved to be a useful skill.
Being able to talk to guys. Having older brothers gives you an inside look into how guys really act as well as what they think. You’re exposed to them as well as their friends. This makes it incredibly easy to talk to pretty much any guy. You know what kinds of things will get them going in conversations as well as topics or approaches to steer clear of, because that will freak them out for sure.
How to come back to reality. Sometimes when emotions are running high and you’re just doing ridiculous things, your brothers are always there to bring you back to planet earth. They know how to deal with you particularly well at this point, will let you act like a fool for a little bit (for humorous purposes of course), and then let you know that you are, in fact, being absurd and that you have to quit it.
Knowing unconditional love. Even though your brothers may rag on you incessantly, they do it because it is all they know. Boys always take a little bit longer to mature, and in their minds, the joking around and all that stuff is their way of showing a little love. It took me awhile to fully grasp this one. I genuinely had no idea why my brothers ragged on me so much. At the end of the day, I know it comes from a good place (and so do you!).
