I hold many titles: daughter, friend, sorority sister, classmate, etc., but the one I cherish the most is being an older sister.

Although there are many common qualities of being an older sibling that I could point out, this piece is not about me, it's about them. My younger sister, Phoebe, was born in August (just like me!) when I was four years old. I love to look back on the first few years of Phoebe's life as "The Golden Years" as we loved to play dress-up together, put on performances, and watch every single Disney movie together. As the years progressed, dress-up turned into Justin Bieber concerts and High School Musical themed birthday parties together. Now while I am in college and she is in high school, it is difficult to have these experiences together. What has become special, though, is getting to see how Phoebe is experiencing high school, which is much different from me. I will always hold on to those memories we shared throughout our childhood and could not imagine experiencing it without a little sister.

My little brother Andrew was born as a premie, which made our bond with him even stronger. We visited him in the NICU for months and were able to see him grow and progress, and we had him on our mind every day even though he wasn't home with Phoebe and I. What Phoebe and I didn't realize is how having a little brother would make our childhood infinitely more special and definitely interesting. After years of coming to our dance recitals and gymnastics meets, Andrew was able to shine in his own little league baseball games. Phoebe and I learned to love dinosaurs, matchbox cars, and Thomas the Tank Engine, but in exchange would forcibly encourage Andrew to watch Hannah Montana with us.

Although we are all in very different phases of life right now, (college, high school, and elementary school) this does not make our sibling bond any weaker, but rather I believe it makes it more interesting and special. My little brother and I are nine years apart, but I genuinely consider him one of my best friends in the whole world. When you have such a strong bond, age begins to matter less. As I sit writing midterm papers for college classes, Phoebe is cheering in a high school football game, and my parents are sitting in their very last elementary school back-to-school night. There is truly never a dull moment in our house with so much going on and everyone going in opposite directions, but I couldn't imagine it any other way.