I’m in my room, blocking out the chaos that is just right out my door. My older brother, the life saver he is, pokes his head in and says, “let’s get out of here.” We drive to Dairy Queen in the dark, listening to music and talking about anything that doesn’t involve why we are driving in the first place. He does everything he can to take my mind off of everything. He makes jokes that comfort me, as we eat cheeseburgers and ice cream. Those are the moments I could just forget about everything.

Another day, I am alone in an abandoned parking lot. I am sitting on a curb and a black pick-up pulls into the lot. The windows are tinted, I can’t see much of anything, but it just stops. I get a bit uneasy as it is parked right in front of me, not moving. No one is getting out of the truck, so I stand up and try to go around the building, not knowing there was a balcony that was too high up to escape from. I go back to the front of the building, and the truck is now at the exit of the lot, parked sideways giving me no chance to escape. I go back behind the building and dial my older sister’s number. It goes to her voicemail, but I get a text from her asking what I need. Not knowing how to quickly describe the situation, I text back, “I’m being followed.” Not even a second later, she calls me demanding my location. When I tell her where I am, she tells me to stay on the line. I explain that there is a truck that seems to be watching me, not letting me leave the parking lot. I peek back out front, and the truck is still there. Maybe seeing me on the phone, they left. My sister shows up just seconds later, breathless and hugging me. A walk that took me a few minutes, took her thirty seconds. In a hurry, my sister had slipped on shoes that were not running material, and didn’t look very comfortable. As we walk back to her house, we pass her husband who was her boyfriend at the time, who was panting and asking what happened. I then found out as soon as my sister got my text message, she dropped everything she was doing, and ran out the door without saying a word to him to make sure I was okay.

These are just two of the many things both of my older siblings have done for me. Whether I was sad or scared, the two of them always knew when and how to pull me out of a situation. Both of them have taken me in when I didn’t have anywhere else to go. My brother got an apartment with me when he was only nineteen-years-old, trying to hold a job while also looking after me while I was still in high school. When that came to an end, my sister took me in. At the time, she had a baby and was pregnant with her second child. Both of my siblings had taken me in when at the time, they were struggling themselves. I will never forget what these two have done for me.

Siblings are forever. Whether you are the oldest, or the youngest, or somewhere in between, all siblings look out for one another. I was the youngest and always felt like I had two guardian angels looking after me. This is a beautiful feeling that I know I will never let go of.

Not every moment is perfect. All siblings will fight. It’s the differences, though, that make the relationships even stronger. Even if they are younger than you, everyone can learn something from their siblings. They are the ones who always want to have your back when you think you’re alone in the world. They can act as everything: your teacher, your friend, or whatever else you might be needing at the time. My sister was the one who taught me how to swim, and it was my brother who taught me how to tie my shoes. Together they taught me the importance of sticking together. The moments in my life where I didn’t think I could carry on, I would think of my brother and my sister, and realize that I would never be able to leave them. Whenever I felt down, I always could count on them to get me through whatever was bothering me. They might not have been able to fix my problems, but they did show me we were all in it together as a family.

So call your brother or sister today. Thank them for everything. Try to set up a date and time to meet and share a meal together. If this isn’t possible, just remember. Remember everything you have done for each other.