When I was growing up with my two younger brothers, I thought that we would never be as close as we are now. From having wrestling matches on my mother’s bed to them stealing my diary and sharing it with the 7th-grade boy I liked at my 13th birthday party, I knew how much they enjoyed pushing my buttons. As their older sister, I wasn’t always the mature one and allowed those things to slide. So I got even at certain times, and boy, was it fun!
Despite our arguments as kids, we did do exciting things together. Us three had a love for amusement parks, especially the big-kid rides. For our family reunion, we went on the Hulk in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and loved it! I also remember the times we went to Bowcraft Amusement Park in NJ to ride this cart around to see exotic animal statues and ride on a green dragon. We loved water parks and going to a lazy river to float in the water was the best part. We liked watching the "WWF Smackdown" and "Raw." This was the time when Stone Cold Steve Austin shaved Kurt Angle’s head for losing a match. Another thing we had in common would be our focus on school. We would always bring home amazing grades to our parents- honor and super honor roll. I’m not sure if we got good grades because our father and mother said so, or that we knew they would reward us with a toy.
I believe that living with my mother at the age of 15 for a year made me look at the relationship I had with my brothers. Not contacting them during the time made me think about them and appreciate the moments we shared as children. We laughed, cried, kicked, pinched, and tormented each other for so long and I did not want to be the evil big sister in the family. I wanted them to look up to me as a role model to emulate and to feel comfortable talking to me about anything.
As we all got older, our personalities began to show more clearly. I was the outgoing, artsy, non-athletic nerd. My younger brother by one year was the quiet and rebellious one who didn’t like school much. And my youngest was the athletic, intelligent sibling that everyone liked. We may have looked related, but our characters were opposite! However, our differences were what made our relationship that much sweeter.
The teasing, bickering, fighting, and competing was all worth it in the end. Now we are all in our 20s, making adult decisions and doing great things with our lives. I am a 24-year-old wife and retired Marine Corps Veteran who is starting college at Montclair State University this fall to work towards my Bachelor’s in Journalism. My brother, who is one year younger than me, is running my dad’s construction business successfully with his strong leadership skills and street smarts. The youngest one in the family in enlisted in the Marine Corps and working within the family construction company as well. Even though we live our lives differently, the inseparable bond we have with each other will always remain the same.
