Growing up as the youngest in my family came with its perks but also many challenges. I've always known as the baby of the family and, no matter how mature I get or how fast I grow up, it won't change the fact that my older sister is always one step ahead. Regardless of everything, I'm proud to be the youngest in the family and I always know how lucky I am to have my older sister in my life.

1. Your closet is her closet

From the second you were born until today, you basically were signing off on an agreement that said everything you own is also your older sisters. No matter how many fights you got in, you always know the older sister is going to win and, evidently, you’re going to be sharing everything in your closet.

2. But you get the best hand-me-downs

While she rummages through your new clothes looking for something to wear, you always know you can rely on all her old clothes that she passed down to you. So, while it might get annoying that she is always relying on your clothes, there’s always a silver lining.

3. Growing up, you’re forced to take the blame for everything

No matter who started what fight or who hit who first, it’s always the job of the youngest sibling to take the blame for the any mistake that was made. Ultimately, that’s what younger siblings are for.

4. The mistakes your older sibling makes are lessons for you

Your older sibling is bound to go through life making multiple mistakes before you ever have to face what they went through. What’s so amazing about this is that you get to learn from all of their mistakes in order to ensure that when it’s your turn, you’re not faced with the same problems that they experienced.

5. You probably have a lot of expectations to live up to

If you grew up in my house, your older sister left you with very big shoes to fill. Because of all she did before me, the expectations that I set for myself based off all that she accomplished were immense. I knew that I expectations to live up to and while, at times, that was completely unsettling, at the end of the day I was happy to know that I had an older sister to be so proud of and to constantly look up to.

6. When they move out of the house you’re suddenly alone

The day my sister left for college was such a weird day; I didn’t really know what to feel. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone. I never knew what it felt like to be an only child until that moment. There were times when it was great and I loved being on my own, but there were often times where all I wanted was my sister back because, ultimately, she was the person I could always count on to be there for me.

7. Never being allowed to hang out with your sister’s “cool” older friends

Every time my sister had friends over, all I wanted to do was to be included. I was constantly pushed away and told to hang out with my own friends. But, honestly, it seemed cooler to hang out with the older girls.

8. You always get the best advice

While it’s nice to have a few close friends who will share their words of wisdom with you and try to offer you advice, no advice compares to the advice of your older sibling. They have seen a lot more of life than we have and they have been through similar, if not identical, situations that we are going through. Because of that, I know whenever I need some sense talked into me, my sister is always there to help me out.

9. You got privileges earlier in life than they most likely did

One of the best perks of being the younger sibling is having your parents let loose when it comes to you. My parents dealt with a lot of firsts when it came to my sister growing up, so they had to put in place certain rules in order to see what worked best. When it came time for me to go through what my sister did, they already knew exactly how to handle every situation that I was faced with.

10. They have been and will always be your person

Through the years of fighting and stealing each other’s clothes, my older sister really is my best friend. I couldn’t possibly look up to anyone as much as I look up to her and no amount of fist fights or arguments could amount to the amazing bond that we have with one another.