A wise little blue Disney monster once said, "Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten." This statement has always resonated with me, family is family. We all try our best to keep our family close, no matter how annoying they may be. This could be dealing with annoying cousins, uncles, grandparents or even your own siblings. Maybe your aunt got you a coloring book for your fifteenth birthday, or you have to listen to grandpa's stories that he has told a million times. We love our family and they do so much for us, even if we want to strangle them half of the time. I am no stranger to this. From the moment I came into this world, I was never alone. My lovely parents gave me four annoyingly great siblings to keep me busy. One thing I can say is my house has never been quiet.
Why my mother had four boys and only one girl, I will never know. Why couldn't I have at least one sister? But you get the cards you're dealt. For how much I love my family and how I am lucky to have them, they are equally as irritating. Family doesn't have to be by blood relation, it's the people we surround ourselves with and the ones we trust. The ones we are comfortable with and the ones who know us just as well as we know them. Growing up with my four brothers was always a challenge. Some days, my brothers and I would get along great, but other times we would be wrestling on the floor over what to watch on TV, or even convincing me that I was adopted from a wildlife preserve and I was actually a very intelligent monkey. It didn't matter, they may joke around with me, but only they could ever do that.
Maybe l complained too much. Looking back now, it wasn't that bad when they cut the hair off of my barbie dolls, or when they used to jump on me when I was sleeping under the sheets. As annoying as they are, I was never alone growing up. I was always watching my younger siblings or helping my older ones with whatever my parents were too lazy to do. Growing up in a big family, there was always dysfunction, fighting, arguing and laughing, but I wouldn't have it any other way. There is no one who understands you like family. Being at college three hours away from home has made me appreciate their craziness a little more. They're always a kind of relief when I come back home for the holidays, at least for a few minutes. You are the way you are and no one understands that better than your family.
You never have to explain why you like McDonald's better than Burger King, or why you always need to sit in a certain spot in the living room. I always felt like my family was an army against everyone else. Having so many siblings, as annoying as they are, I get to have a complex, different relationship with each of them that I cherish. I have one brother to learn from, one brother who protects me, even if he doesn't want to show it, one brother to teach and one brother to cherish. Each one is like a different order off the McDonald's menu. Do you like them all? Yes, but you appreciate each one for the differences. Maybe the Big Mac needs to stop playing music at 4am, or the chicken McNuggets needs to stop writing "fat legs" on your Instagram pictures, but you gotta love them. My brothers are the first to tease me, but they are also the first to protect me if something goes wrong.
Do I like them? No, but do I love them? Yes, because while you are stuck with your family, they are stuck with you as well. And I know I wouldn't have it any other way.
