One of the greatest things I will ever be is a sister. A sister to my older sister and brother. There's nothing quite like growing up with two automatic best friends, and quite honestly I could not imagine being an only child. My siblings are the greatest gift I ever received, or since I am the youngest it's probably the other way around (even though they'll never admit it). Whatever life threw at our family, we overcame together.

I am the youngest of three. My sister is nine years older than I am, and my brother is seven years older. It's a pretty big age difference, but they are my best friends. I always had a close relationship with them, and that was never a question. We grew up in a single household, and that made us stronger. It gave us a better foundation for what it means to really be there for one another.

Since I am the youngest, I am guilty of putting them through almost having a child of their own. They babysat me, took care of me, dealt with my teen angst and helped raise me. Since we had only one parent to take on the roles of both, my brother and sister contributed to other parts of my life that maybe not all siblings do. I will never be able to thank them enough for being my role models and for shaping me into who I am today.

My sister.

If you have a sister, you know how lucky you are to have one. When I look back at my childhood, I remember a lot of things, but what I remember the most is her being there. She was always there. There was never a question of who would babysit me or drive me somewhere; she would do it. She wasn't always too happy about it because I was practically invading her life, but I thought I was the coolest ever. I was hanging out with my much older and cooler sister, and she was babysitting her annoying little sister. I idolized her, and I mean it.

She is without a doubt one of the greatest humans to walk this Earth, and if you know her, you are lucky. She was my mom's right hand and managed to work her entire time growing up in order to help the family. She is the oldest of the three, so she had a much clearer picture of our family problems. She was in the forefront of every financial obstacle and every emotional, disastrous hill that our family had to overcome. She is the strongest person I know.

As if that's not enough, she is also the funniest. I would like to think she got that from me, but honestly, I got that from her. I was attached at her hip, and she never tried to push me off. She is so weird, but in the funniest ways. She is never afraid to be herself, and I think anyone who knows her admires that about her. She finds the humor in situations, and I will find myself dying of laughter whenever I am with her. I don't laugh as hard with anyone else as I do with her. Growing up with that kind of person made life a lot better.

She would take me shopping, and even though I have a much better sense of fashion than her (just kidding) (maybe), she would always be the one looking out for me, seeing if my Limited Too outfit was as cute as I then thought it was. I would also walk into her room very quietly before school and beg her to let me borrow a shirt that I had already decided the night before I was going to wear. I still have some of her clothes in my possession, but let's just keep that a secret. One of the other greatest things is getting her hand-me-downs. Clothes she decided weren't cute anymore were like one-of-a-kind designer vintage to me. The one downside is that I have much bigger feet than her, so I never fit into any of her shoes (trust me, I tried).

She is now doing something she loves, and it wasn't easy for her to get there. She had to work really hard and late in order to get through school. She is so smart and made it to where she is today without any help. I don't know if I would even be in college had she never followed her dreams. She led by example, and I knew that if I wanted to one day be as successful as her that I had to be just as motivated and determined.

My sister, she is my best friend. Regardless of the nine year age difference, I think she would agree we are so close. As I have gotten older, we have just gotten closer. I have grown out of my super mean teen phase, which I think was hard on everyone, and evolved into a person that she helped me become. She told me when I was being a brat, and we would get into huge fights over everything. But had she not told me how it is, I think I would still be that way. I tell her everything, I confide in her, and I know that her advice is the best there is. She has been in my shoes before, an almost 20-year-old girl who thinks the world is coming to an end over problems that don't matter. She tells me when I am wrong, and she helps mend my problems.

She is strong, she is kind, and she is my person. She was like a much cooler, awesome parent. She would take me to rated R movies and let me stay up really late. But she also told me when I needed to have my homework done, and she expected nothing but good grades. There's no way for me to thank God enough for her, but for what it's worth, thank you, God.

My sister deserves the kind of life, love and happiness that people dream of. I truly hope one day I am half the woman she is. She doesn't need a man to make her whole or to give her worth. She is everything and more on her own. There's nothing like having grown up with a woman as kind, courageous and strong as her. One of my fondest memories with her is that we got baptized at the beach together. I will hold that close to my heart, for as long as I live.

My brother.

Growing up with my brother was also a huge blessing. I am not kidding when I say that he taught me multiplication. I distinctly remember him teaching me how to memorize stuff for school, and to this day, I still remember them. He always had high expectations of me, and I always wanted to make him proud. He pushed me to be my best and did not accept anything less, and for that I can't thank him enough.

He is strong in his faith, and has had to overcome more than practically anyone I know. He came out stronger than ever, and he has inspired me his entire life. He also managed to be at a place in his life where he is doing something he loves. He found a way to go to school and be where he is today, and the only thing I see for his future is greatness.

He was also the typical older brother. He threatened to hurt anyone who ever hurt me and was extremely over-protective. But honestly, I didn't mind. It was nice to know someone cared that much. He always checked up on me, and it kept me on the right path. He reminded me of what was important, and to not forget to have a good head on my shoulders. He has the biggest heart, and I'd like to think I got that from growing up with him.

Having an older brother also brought out my love for video games, and he had them all. Every game console and hundreds of video games. I would sneak into his room when I was little, and I would play the games while he was at school. He bought me my first DS, and I could not let go of that thing. I think this helped balanced out my interests, because not only was I obsessed with stuffed animals and Barbies, but I also loved a good classic video game.

There haven't been a lot of men in my life who I have looked up to in the way I look up to him. He is one of my role models, and he taught me what it means to be a good person. He taught me the importance of being kind, and how having good character overcomes everything else. I could never lose my faith in fathers, because I know one day, he'll make the best one.

I recently went to him for some life advice. I was experiencing a lot of stress and didn't know how to handle what life was throwing at me, and he made me instantly feel better. He knew just what to say and how to get my head in the right place. In fact, I am going to put what he told me, because I think that's just a reflection of how amazing of a brother he is.

"I love you so much I ask God to give you what you need..but I trust him and know he will never let us down. I live through you, you smile, I smile and that's all I want for you to be happy I love and adore you so much." I mean, can you say best brother ever?

I don't know who I would be or where I would be without him. He inspired me to follow my dreams and reminds me constantly of how important it is that I never give up. When it feels like the whole world is against me, I know he is my number one fan. He supports my hopes and dreams and will tell me I can achieve them even when I am not sure I can.

My brother, he deserves a life full of joy, laughter and love. I hope one day he will be at a place where he feels as happy with life as he deserves to be, and I hope that I have been half the sister to him as he has been my brother. He is the only man in my life that has been there since the beginning, and for that, I cannot thank him enough.

So, thank you both. For being not just my siblings, but much more. My best friends — my people. You have both sacrificed so much and life has taken pieces of you both. It has tossed you around, and you have had to be strong. Not just for yourselves, but for me, because I know you always felt like I was there watching. I was always watching, but the only thing I ever saw were people who overcame. Who looked at life's troubles and told them it was no big deal. As if you didn't have enough already on your plates, you all came out stronger than ever. I saw nothing but heroes. My heroes.

“To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."

Love,

Your younger, annoying (but cooler) sister