I was the youngest of four, and on top of it, the only girl. If you know what it's like to grow up with only brothers, you might share some of my pain (kidding). Growing up with three older brothers was... interesting, to say the least.
Since there was one of me and three of them, there were disadvantages and advantages -- such as the "you're not my favorite brother anymore." I pulled this card whenever I wanted them to do something for me... until they all caught on and decided to quit giving in. But me being the youngest and getting to experience a childhood with older brothers provided me with a lifetime of stories and memories that I will never forget.
1. You learn to not question what the smell is.
Sometimes there are weird smells coming from their rooms, and then I learned that they left an onion set under the bed for about two weeks. Sometimes they just went to the bathroom and I had to get ready... that's the worst. But I learned you just don't ask because most likely you don't want to know.
2. There is never any good food in the fridge or cupboards.
Mom will go to the store and within minutes all the good food is gone (when they're are actually hoarding it in their rooms).
3. You're always getting told what to do.
"Kylie do this," "Kylie bring me this," "Kylie come here," were things I heard on the daily. I was a good little sister and (usually) helped them out. But if I helped them out, usually I could con them into doing something for me.
4. There is rarely peace and quiet in the house.
Two of my brothers were always getting at each other for who knows what, or when we were little they would chase each other on dirt bikes and throw dirt clods at each other, or they had all their friends over and it was a madhouse.
5. They convince you that bad ideas are good ideas.
Usually, when I got into trouble it was because one of my brothers told me I should do something that actually wasn't a good idea, but when I tried to tell mom and dad that, it didn't work.
6. You learned that there was more to do than playing with your Barbies.
Yes, I loved Barbies growing up. But when my three brothers were constantly riding dirt bikes and four wheelers, frog-gigging, having mud fights in our pond, and playing H.O.R.S.E., I quickly learned there was much more to life than my dolls.
7. You enter their rooms at your own risk.
I remember I went into my brother's room once without their permission... and I never did it again. Mostly because the mess was terrifying, but partly because they definitely weren't happy I invaded their "personal space."
8. You become immune to "gross things."
Farting and burping (sometimes right in my face) became the norm. I wasn't too shocked when dirty laundry was everywhere and started to create a stench, or there was food molding in their trash cans.
9. Pulling the "but I'm a girl" card works on your parents.
The great thing about being the ONLY girl was that I could use that against my parents. I was their sweet, innocent little girl ;) Certain rules that applied to my brothers sometimes didn't apply to me. Certain things my brothers couldn't do, I got an OK to do. Man, was it good to be the only girl... in these situations.
10. Boyfriends better beware.
My brothers weren't always too involved in my life, mostly because of the age difference. But as I've gotten older- they became much more interested in who I was "hanging out with." As much crap as they give me about guys, when it comes down to it, they want to make sure I'm spending my time with the right guys. If my dad asks a few questions, they ask ten more.
11. There is a zero-tolerance policy for drama in the house.
I had to remember, though, they were still guys. Even though I was their little sister and they kept tabs on me, they wanted nothing to do with the drama. They were not there for me to talk about my friend problems and who the next best singer was.
12. They will prank you more times than you can count.
The worst is when you and your friends are having a sleepover in the basement and all of a sudden the lights go out and then you hear someone crawling on the ground. Finally, when the lights come back on, you realize it's your brother with a mask on.
13. And you can never get revenge.
As much as I tried, I could never get revenge. One time my friend and I tried to get my brother back by scaring him, so we put ketchup on a plate and put it in his room- he didn't fall for it.
14. They will give you brotherly advice... but it's not always good advice.
As much as they didn't want to hear the drama, when I needed it they were there for me. I could ask them anything and they would give me advice. Now, it wasn't always good advice... sometimes it got me into more trouble than actually helping me, but at least they tried.
15. You always have people that will have your back.
Having older brothers means that you constantly have people that care about you. Yes, we might not have always gotten along, or we didn't always like each other, and of course there was always a lot of yelling and fighting. But at the end of the day, we were family and we were there for each other.
Growing up with three older brothers gave me a million memories, a thousand more stories, and three best friends.
