There is something about having siblings that shapes a person differently from those who don’t. I don’t know if it is because you are forced to share all your toys, if you have to experience the “hand me down” stage, or if you simply just have people that are basically forced to be your friends forever. Siblings are the type of people that will stand behind you when Mom gets mad when there is one dish in the sink. Siblings are the type of people you rely on for entertainment at every awkward family event, like the wedding of your father’s second cousin. Siblings are the type of people who have seen you at your best and worst, who will slightly judge you, but still will be there for you when it’s 3 AM and you’re stressed about being an adult.

I was blessed to have two older siblings, one older brother and one older sister. Respectively, there is a 5 ½ and 4 year age gap, and so I have always been known as “the baby”. For the first 12 or so years of my life, being the baby was annoying. I didn’t want to be held back because I hadn’t reached double digits, because I was still wearing Justice while my sister got to shop in the Junior’s department, because I was the only one who couldn’t drive. The end of elementary/middle school years were especially difficult. Having two pubescent females combined with another testosterone filled high schooler was the not best combination for sibling comradery. My sister and I fought about sharing the bathroom, borrowing clothes without asking, why mom still bought us matching things in different colors, etc. My brother and I just didn’t speak as much, he was involved with football and usually was away from the house for more time that he was in it.

Once I finally reached my freshman year, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. My sister entered her first year at Virginia Tech, my brother on his second at George Mason. As time passed, my sister and I began to not argue as much when she came back for break, and my brother talked to me more and more out of free will. Now, I am the only one in school and things have drastically changed. I have become my sister’s “Instagram guru”, and we generally just text weekly about life or funny things we see on the internet. Distance truly did make the heart grow fonder, and I feel more comfortable going to her for advice than I ever have before. My brother and I spent an entire summer together while he was looking for a job and I was anticipating college. We can now bond about working retail jobs, and he texts me sometimes about what’s going on at home.

Some people have 10 siblings, some have one, some have none. But those with siblings understand: growing up with them is a process. Everyone has a period where they think at least one of their siblings wishes they weren’t born, but then 4-5 years later they end up being best friends. Some siblings are 10 years apart while other are 10 minutes apart. Sometimes you are the oldest, sometimes you are the youngest, and sometimes you are just stuck in the middle. There’s no one right group of siblings out there, though I have to say, I’m pretty sure I got the best ones out there.