First, you need to know that I’m the youngest of three. My sister is four years older than me and my brother is two. I grew up thinking that my siblings hated me because they got along better than I did with either of them. I was pretty much the odd one out though. I could always go off on my own and be fine with not interacting with another person. Because of this they grew a bond that I never understood.

For most of my life I shared a room with my sister. We got along and even had our good times. What I remember the most from that time though is that we were at odds with each other more than we got along. We had our fights, our “leave me alone” moments, and most importantly our “I can’t believe you did that!” moments.

I was true to the traditional younger sibling role and nosed around in her things, tried inserting myself in everything, and constant talking to which her responses weren’t the kindest. While all of this seems typical, it was hard for me. I looked up to her for everything. At one point I even wanted to be exactly like her. I clutched at everything she would throw my way. My taste of music was mainly influenced by her. I even learned the same instrument as her.

A few weeks before she left for college and I started high school my family moved from South Carolina to Maine. To say that this was a huge change for both of us is an understatement. She was figuring out how to live on her own and I was struggling with life in a small town where people were friends from birth. It took a while for me to crack, but when I did she was the person I called. I can’t tell you how many times she sat on the other side of the phone while I sobbed on my end.

Since our initial break through we have become closer and taken our friendship to a new level. We still have our fights and tough times, but we always come back from them. I have even gotten to the point where I can tell her things from our childhood relationship that a few years ago I would never dream of admitting to her. Overall, her willingness to give me her time and energy has allowed me to feel more comfortable around her and open up.