When I was four years old, I believed in ghosts. My two older sisters and older brother hid under my sister’s floral duvet and chased me around the house. They would take turns hiding under the comforter (except my oldest sister was usually the ghost). They would tell me the ghost was after me and I needed to hide. They took pleasure in watching me bawl my eyes out as I hid in my parent’s closet while their voice creepily filtering through the bathroom vent into the closet. Eventually, I found out the secret that my siblings were under this floral-duvet ghost-monster.

I told my mom and she threatened them with punishments if they didn’t stop.

The point is: being the second youngest of four children, I was often tortured by my siblings. By the time my little brother came along, no one cared all that much about being little brats to him. He was just too cute. And they were over it.

Siblings are built in best friends and bullies, all rolled into one. Your siblings are probably the first people that you yelled a curse word at. Calling your brother the “B word” when you don’t have any clue what it means leads to a classic, but inevitable, lecture and grounding from the ‘rents. Your siblings are probably the first people that seriously, physically injured you in a brawl because God forbid your sister change the channel from “Hannah Montana.” They are probably the first people that emotionally hurt you too when your sister screams, “I hate you” because you wouldn’t let her borrow your favorite shirt. You tell her you hate her, too. Both of you don’t even know how severe it is to say the words, “I hate you” to someone’s face.

Your siblings are also probably the first people who you completely trust. They are the first people to see you break down in tears after someone broke your trust, or your heart. They are the first people who truly have your back. They are the first people to see you at your best, and at your worst. They are your first playmates. They are your first best friends. They are probably the first people that made you laugh so hard that you cried.

So I’m sorry to my siblings for all the hateful things I’ve said. I’m sorry for unnecessarily hitting. I’m sorry for putting the blame of my wrongdoings on you. I’m sorry for all the fights.

But what would our family be without the good and the bad? It’s completely impossible to function as a family unit without some inescapable fighting. That is not realistic.

So, here’s to Mom and Dad for having five kids and blessing us with four lifelong friends. All our children will be best friends when we are older and on our own without the guiding hand of mom and dad.

My siblings and I will be like the siblings from the show, “Parenthood,” when we are older with children – whether they like it or not.