As I have gotten older I have noticed a strange stigma surrounding sisters. Whenever I say I have a younger sister people automatically ask the question, "Does she steal your stuff all the time?" Of which I then reply, "No, she asks if she can borrow something and if I say no then she doesn't use it. The overall reaction to this statement is usually astonishing. These people insist from that moment that she has probably stolen it after that anyways because, and I quote, "That's what sisters do." Now most of these responses have been from the male population and I therefore don't understand why they have any clue as to how sisters operate because they themselves aren't a sister. So, for all of the men out there who insist that sisters only live to spite each other, here is a list of what I would do for my sister.

1. No matter what time of day it is I will always come to bail out or help my sister.

Now my sister is 7 years younger than I am, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't get into trouble. She could be stranded in the middle of the desert, over 12 hours away from me, but as soon as she called for my help I would figure out a way to get there. If I had to kidnap a pilot and steal a plane then so be it. My sister, as old as she is, is still my "baby sister" and nobody else besides another sister will ever be able to understand that bond. I helped feed her, I helped change her, and I helped her to grow. She may not like me all of the time and she may aggravate the crap out of me but she is still my sister. I would walk to the end of the Earth for her if I had to.

2. More often than not my answer will be yes.

This is where the "borrowing" situation comes into play. As long as my sister asks me ahead of time, my answer will be yes and I won't be angry about it. Actually, the only reason my answer would be no is because I want to wear or use the thing she wants to borrow or she is going somewhere where the item might get dirty or stolen. I know a lot of the time guys hear about how a sister has "stolen" something from another sister but that is usually because the sister knows that answer was probably yes to begin with. When you hear a woman getting upset that her sister "stole" something, she's not mad that they took it, she's mad that they didn't ask and that's what drives us nuts.

3. I will always do a complete, FBI-like, in-depth background check on my sister's significant other.

I know everybody thinks it's the dad or brother who does this type of thing but it's not. Actually, in my family at least, if you get my father or brother talking about cars or hunting you are golden. There is no need to look farther than that because you obviously have a good head on your shoulders if you like either one of those things. WRONG!!! You may have them eating out of the palm of your hand but I'm watching for even the slightest misstep. Oh, you don't like hot sauce? You have failed step one because my sister is in love with the stuff. I'm looking for facial expressions, hand gestures, nervous ticks. I'm stalking your Facebook, your Twitter, your favorite videos on Youtube. If you have a Tinder, you are done in my book. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, because you aren't going to make it in the front door. Now my sister is a badass, meaning she is not going to take shit from anyone, including me, but that doesn't mean that she won't make a mistake. Love can make people accept even the worst flaws, so that's why I will always be her backup. She's not going to like it but I'm going to do it anyways. And trust me, if you do ANYTHING to upset her, I'm going to make Texas Chainsaw Massacre look like a children's ride at an amusement when I'm done with you.

4. I am the ONLY one who gets to insult her.

Besides maybe the occasional sibling insult from my brother or an aggravated insult from my parents, I am the ONLY one who gets to insult my sister. I know my sister can be difficult and she's not one to open up about things but there are rare occasions that she does this with me. So when I hear somebody else complain about her attitude, I'm going to back her up even if I know that the complaint was justified. I know how she really feels, I know that she doesn't mean it, and I know why she's doing it, so if you even think for a second that you are going to get away with it, you are sadly mistaken. Unless you have done everything that I have for her you do not get to say a damn thing. I have picked her up from a tough situation because I knew my parents weren't going to listen to a thing she was going to say because they were too angry. I have coached her to say and do the right things for my parents when she is stuck in these situations because I have done them before. I know why my parents are angry and I know that she didn't mean to do the thing she did, so I moderate to both sides. I have been and always will be her moderator, her go-between, and her defender. So when I hear people complain about her "attitude" outside of the family it is not okay. She is one of the strongest people I know and I will not have you insulting how hard she has worked, mostly alone, to get here.

So there you have it. This is how most sisters truly are. We may get angry at one another and we might complain to others about it, but it doesn't mean we love them any less.