I've learned a lot of things from my older brother; I've learned things about guys in general, about myself, and I've learned how to do a lot of things. This list is made up of just a few generalized lessons that I've learnt over the past 20 years. Some may make it seem like I just got wailed on as a child, but we had more good times than bad times, I assure you. I love my brother very much, and couldn't have asked for anyone better. I'm sure I'll continue to learn ridiculous things from him in the years to come, and I can't wait.

Boys are usually pretty gross (especially when they're younger)

Farting, burping and mooning are just a few of the oh-so-wonderful expressions of love you get from your older brother as a younger sister. As they get older, these, hopefully, start to come to an end, but you'll still see a special side of boys that you hopefully don't see from your friends and boyfriends when you have an older brother. Filthy apartments, gross jokes, public scratching of their nuts, and spending hours in the bathroom are a few of the glamorous realities of boy's lives.

Guys get way nicer throughout college

Mostly due to maturity, older brothers generally get way nicer during their college years. Whether it's the fact that you are also getting older or that they just learned how to treat girls better, just accept it. Don't ask why; appreciate it.

How to take a beating

Full nelsons, half nelsons, getting sat on, getting spat on, getting beat up on during every sporting endeavor you participated in... Why we continued to play with our older brothers I'll never know, but as a little sister, you learn to toughen up real quick.

How to stand up for yourself

You might have not done this all the time when you were younger, but I believe that this occurs later on, because your whole childhood you did whatever your older sibling told you to and eventually you get a little sick of it. You can only take so many noogies in life, and you experienced quite enough as a child.

Life's not fair

You get in trouble for things your brother did, and vise versa. They get to do things that you don't, they may be really good at a lot of things that you aren't... All in all, you learn that life isn't fair, and that you don't always get what you want or deserve. You learn this from having any siblings, but I think that since older brothers tend to be good at, well, everything, you really learn to accept the cards that you're dealt when you have an older brother.

To never hit a guy in the nuts (unless you're in real danger)

The one time I made this mistake my brother held me upside down by my ankles for ten minutes. Just don't do it. They will hate you for it, and it's not very nice, and it will not end well for you.

To be competitive

Little sisters are generally the underdogs when they compete with their older brothers. You always want to impress your parents by doing better in school and in sports. There's no rivalry quite like that of an older brother and a younger sister. Neither is afraid to play rough, and things can escalate quickly.

To learn from his mistakes

If my brother made a mistake and I made the same one later on, I got in more trouble than he did when he made the original mistake. My parents expected me to learn from his mistakes, so eventually, I did. Every dumb thing he did, I made sure to never do. The same thing works for learning from what he did well. I learned how to make my parents happy, how to be better at sports, how to kiss up to people, etc.

How to handle rejection

No matter how mean they can be, little sisters have a lot of respect for their older brothers. We always wanted to play with them, always wanted to tag along, but usually the feeling wasn't mutual. ("Get out of my room!" was shouted daily by my brother.) You learn that people have boundaries, and that you need to respect people's time and space, whether you want to or not.

How to be there for someone who doesn't really want you to be there

Because rejection is common in this kind of relationship, I wouldn't expect an older brother to listen to advice from their annoying little sister. But after years of trial and error, little sisters learn how to appropriately approach situations and how to ask the right questions in order for our brothers to open up to us. We choose our words wisely, and know when to back off.

They have a new-found respect for you when you get older

As I've gotten older, I guess I've started to have more in common with my brother. Whether it's both of us maturing, or us just having more to talk about, I've definitely gotten closer with my older brother in recent years.

To not be a cry baby

My brother called me a cry baby so often when I was little that I told myself I would never cry again. Obviously that failed, but I did pretty well for a year or so. As unhealthy as that may have been, I did learn to not be easily offended and to not get worked up over stupid things. This was more necessary when I was younger and he was the one making me cry, but it translates into my life today too.

To choose our battles wisely

Going off of the one above, as a child, when you have an older brother you have to decide what you're going to cry about, what you're going to complain about, what you're going to tell on him for, etc. If you do anything too often you'll become the sister who cried wolf, so you learn to choose your battles wisely.

You'll always have someone looking out for you

No matter how mean or frustrating our older brothers were when we were younger, we knew they were always going to be there for us when we needed them. This becomes even truer as we get older. They understand how crazy our parents can be, how hard school is, and how frustrating life can be. They experience things before us, and are therefore the best people to have around when we need advice. And I guarantee they'll be there at the drop of a hat if you need them.

Marcus, thanks for all the life lessons, love you!