When I was six years old, I gained two awesome new sisters. One of them was just five months younger than me, and the other was four. I had begged my mother since I could remember for siblings, and I had finally received them. However, it didn't stop there. My list of siblings just kept growing longer as the years went on.

Be careful what you wish for, folks.

All jokes aside, having a lot of siblings is actually very beneficial. You have six automatic friends. You have six movie buddies, breakfast dates, and shopping companions.

I decided to compile a list of things my siblings have taught me over the years.

1. They taught me how to be a friend.

Your siblings are essentially your very first friend. They taught me games to play, they watched cartoons with me, and they got into trouble with me. A big thing my two oldest sisters taught me was how to share my toys. Sharing still isn't really my strong suit, but I used to be way worse than I am now.

2. They taught me how to be a leader.

As the oldest of the bunch, I learned leadership skills pretty quickly. They taught me responsibility and respect. I learned that you can't get someone to do as you ask by just yelling at them, or being bossy. They taught me patience, and they taught it often. Especially with my youngest siblings, I found myself helping out my parents by babysitting (a lot). I would say that patience is very important for babysitting because those little guys can push your buttons.

3. They taught me how to be a mother.

So obviously my parents did a ton more than I did, in terms of raising my siblings. But, I did get to watch from the sidelines and help from time to time. I learned by watching my parents successes and failures throughout raising us. I learned how to change diapers, feed babies, what disciplinary actions work best, and etc. I also learned through babysitting.

4. They gave me some practice on being an educator.

Growing up, everyone begins to imagine their future careers. I knew when I grew up, that I wanted to be a teacher. (Of course that changed multiples throughout college, but that's a story for another time.) It started with my second youngest sister. I was very adamant on teaching her to read, so in the evenings I would draw words on a dry erase board for her to sound out. It all escalated from there. I began coming up with scavenger hunts for them and attempting to teach them dances. Having younger siblings has benefited me in the education field even now because I am around students near my younger siblings ages.

5. They taught me the importance of setting a good example.

My parents often times told me to set a good example for my siblings, and initially, I didn't realize how important it really was. ...until my siblings started saying sassy comments like me, or they wanted to do things they were too young for. I also began to realize how much little children look up to highschoolers and especially college students. I learned to act how I would want them to behave.

6. They taught me that life's not fair.

Ah, the pill that's hard to swallow sometimes. They taught me this many, many times. In life, things are usually never fair. Everyone has different needs, strengths, weaknesses, and interests, that there is no way for everything to always be fair. It is a really hard concept to grasp as a young child, but boy is it an important one.

7. They taught me how to be the voice of reason.

When it comes to my siblings, everyone had a partner that they disagreed with pretty frequently. Considering I was the oldest, and there were seven of us total, I was the one without the partner. This gave me the task of being the voice of reason, the negotiator, the peacekeeper.

Having siblings is a very rewarding experience. I am very blessed to have six awesome brothers and sisters. Thank you guys for being you.