If you ask me how many siblings I have I will respond with three. I have an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister. Now if you ask me where my siblings live, I will tell you that my younger siblings live with me and my older sister lives in Frankfort with her mom. So the next thing out of your mouth will be, "Oh, so she's your half-sister?" to which I will tell you, "No, she's just my sister."
Yes, technically speaking we only share half our genes but why does finding that out suddenly sum up our relationship? I've had numerous people ask if I get along with my older sister or if I even like her. Who decided that just because we only share half of the same gene pool that she didn't qualify as a "real" sister? What is a "real" sister anyway? Why does finding out that my older sister is only my half sister suddenly make her less of my sister? My sister played dress up with me when I was little and when the time came, took me shopping for dresses, did my hair and makeup for school dances. We share the same love reading and all things Disney.
It only ever crosses my mind that my sister is my half sister when people ask and question our relationship. I've never understood why I wouldn't get along or love her. After all, we do share half of our genetics. In fact, the half that we share made us look alike. Despite growing up in different households and being nine years apart, our mannerisms are the same as well. My older sister is passionate and responsible, working as a special education teacher. She has a heart bigger than anyone else that I know. My sister is loyal and trustworthy. She's brutally honest and independent. I like to think I take after her in these ways, but I probably don't since I used up the half of genes I share with her to look like her. Right?
In a society where it is common to have step-siblings and half-siblings, I've never been one to differentiate. A sibling is a sibling. You grow up together, make mistakes and you blame each other for the mistakes. You laugh, cry, and make fun of each other. A bond doesn't change simply because of a label. My sister got lucky when she got four siblings because we (her siblings) might come from different halves, but nonetheless, we all love her wholeheartedly, the same as she loves us.
