Older brothers. They’re your biggest tormentors yet also your greatest protectors. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have two of them, and as I’ve become more of an adult, I’ve grown to realize how blessed I truly am to have them by my side.

So this is an open letter, a letter of thanks, love and appreciation, for the two guardians I’ve had next to me for the last 20 years.

To my older brothers,

You’ve been there through it all -- my normal yet still thrilling childhood, my awkward preteen years, my teenagehood engulfed with first boyfriends, a horrible fashion sense, and the ever-so-stereotypical “high school experience” and beginning the next major, and quite developmental chapter of my life: college.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. We fight. You pick on me and laugh at me, sometimes to teach me a lesson and sometimes solely to give me a hard time. But you also would take a bullet for me. I can say that with complete confidence. If someone were to ask me who I know, that no matter what would protect me in any situation, I would say you.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re best friends either. Being five and two years apart from the both of you, there is a clear difference in age, which means we have different interests and lead different lives. But just because I don’t know what you’re doing every day, your favorite band at the moment or how you take your coffee, doesn't mean that the bond we share is diminished or nonexistent.

There’s that old saying, "Blood is thicker than water." You two reinforce that proverb consistently. Every screw-up, every “Why in the world would you ever do that?” moment, you defend me until the end. Will you tell me I screwed up? Of course. Will you give me a hard time for it and have no problem, and I mean absolutely no problem, being brutally honest with me? Definitely. But I think that’s what genuine love is.

When you love another person, you’re comfortable enough to address their faults. You’re comfortable enough to say, “You did this. It was wrong. You need to fix it. But, I still love you and I’m here for you.”

I could write a novel about all of the sibling moments we’ve had. “Sibling moments” are what I like to call those memories that stand out in your mind that truly reinforce the love you have for your brothers or sisters. They could be small things like you picking me up from a friends house at 2 a.m. even when I know you didn’t want to, or me sitting on your bed and crying because the boy I was dating was mean to me, and you coming over to hug me and telling me that everything is going to be okay.

These memories, almost like a flipbook of video bites in my mind, are vivid components to the relationship we share.

Also, whether you completely realize it or not, you set the path for me. It could be professionally in the workforce, socially or for common, everyday occurrences that make up life, but it was you who showed me the ropes. Now, this could be because of the mistakes you make (no offense), but you are my greatest teachers. You show me what it means to be independent, to make important decisions and how to step up to the plate, and be (dare I say) a responsible adult.

But, you also show me how to balance this with having fun, that I should always chase my dreams, never jeopardize my own happiness for the sake of another and that at the end of the day, family is the backbone that acts as a foundation for the life upon which I continue to build.

Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I also probably wouldn’t expect so much out of men, because you two have shown me through your own personal, romantic relationships the type of respect that men need to show women and the type of respect that should be reciprocated back.

You've given me more than I could ever ask for, and more than you could ever imagine. And I definitely don't tell you this enough.

Thank you for being my defenders, counselors, and my biggest tormentors that I sometimes hate to love but love to hate. I love you both endlessly.

And for those of you who are on the flip side of this situation and you are the older sibling, just know that your younger siblings appreciate you more than you know. We might not always say it, but without you, we would be a lot more lost than we already are.