Three years ago, my oldest brother Chris, sat me down and explained to me that my dad is not his dad. For a couple of minutes I thought he was joking, but after my mom sat on the couch next to me, I realized he wasn't.
It was confusing at first. I didn't quite know how to take this new information. I felt like every interaction between him and I had been a lie. No one told me? But no one told him either. He found out at 25 years old that our father took on being his father after only dating my mother for 6 months when my brother was just three days old. It was definitely more confusing for him than it was for me.

The next couple of weeks were difficult. I asked a lot of questions, to Chris, our parents, and our brother, Josh. I came to the conclusion that things were no different, things weren't going to change.

I came to understand that half-brother is only a technical term.

Many people use the terms "mother" and/or "father" to refer to those who take care of them, raise them, and love them. Sometimes, those people are not the names listed on their birth certificates. So which one is more important: names on a piece of paper or the people we have in our lives? Chris spent his whole life calling our father "dad" because he is the one who raised him, taught him to play sports, and loves him unconditionally. That is what makes a father.

That is what makes Chris a brother. Anyone who has grown up with siblings knows the life. It is full of arguments, competition, hardships, and togetherness. Sometimes you can’t get away from them no matter how hard you try. In those times, it sucks and you hate your life. However, after you grow up, you realize that without your siblings you would not be the same person you are today, regardless if they are full, half, or step. When you have grown up with step-siblings, spending every second with them, what makes them any less than your brothers and sisters? Both of my brothers made me who I am today, and not one of them is more my brother than the other. I grew up with Chris calling him brother. He has never been, and never will be, anything less than that.

No matter what the real story behind our relationship is, nothing will change our family and our friendship. The three of us have been together for too long for anything to come in between us. So when I tell you I have two brothers, no, it is not 100% accurate in the literal sense, but I love both of my brothers the same no matter the blood that runs through their veins. Because we are family and half-brother is nothing more than a technical term.