For as long as I can remember, I've had two best friends. My older brother and my younger sister are the two people I've always been able to be myself around, and for someone who never had many friends in school, that meant the world to me. We were all born eighteen months apart from one another, and that closeness in age has led to us being close in a more interpersonal sense. Of course, my relationship with each of them differs from the other, but that's only natural. When all is said and done, though, they're equally important to me.

As kids, I remember being inseparable from my brother. Wherever he went, I followed. I remember I used to sit and watch him play on the GameCube for hours on end, not once having any desire to play the games myself. I looked up to him, so I was perfectly content watching him do it. If he bought a game for the DS, I would always get the same game so that we could play through it at the same time. School was no exception to my habit of following his example. I read at a level above my own grade, so I would often stop by his classroom to read with his class, and I would also visit his classroom at the end of each day so that we could walk out together. It may have been embarrassing for him, but I loved spending that extra time with him. In my eyes, my brother was the coolest person in the world, and I wanted to do anything to be just like him.

My relationship with my little sister was far different, albeit no less prominent. With her, I was the one in charge. I would declare what game we would be playing every time we found ourselves in the playroom together. She followed me around the same way I followed my brother, which placed me in an interesting position in my family where I was both a leader and a follower simultaneously. My sister and I did everything together as well, from playing with dolls to dressing up to watching our favorite movies on repeat. Even now, we still share most of the same interests and are constantly spending time together. She's someone I know I can talk to about just about anything, and I'm sure that she feels the same way towards me.

We've had fights, though that certainly goes without saying. All siblings bicker from time to time. It's only natural when you're around someone for so long, after all. However, at the end of the day, I can always depend on my siblings to be there for me when I need someone to talk to. I can say with certainty that I don't know where I'd be without my siblings, and I know to never take the relationship I have with them for granted. Even in college, I rely on them more than ever. The three of us are constantly messaging each other in a group chat we share, which makes the distance feel less vast.

I've learned through the years that though we may grow up and our relationship with one another may evolve with us, my bond with my siblings will always be steadfast and unbreakable. Siblings are the ones who stick by our side through thick and thin, no matter what, and I urge you not to take yours for granted. After all, no matter what, your siblings are your built-in best friends.