To start off, I want to say thank you to my older brother for being my biggest supporter and best friend. You’ve helped me figure out who I am and who I want to be and I’m forever grateful that you’re my brother.
Growing up and figuring out who you are is not an easy task. From school to friendships to work and everything in between, there are obstacles and roadblocks and times when we need the help of another person to make it through. This support can be found in friends, family members, and sometimes complete strangers that show some kindness on a difficult day. Having an older brother to be there through it all, from middle school fights to dealing with college stresses, makes life a little bit easier to handle. Well, let’s be honest, it makes things a lot easier. Here's why:
1. Older brothers are protective and caring, but understand when you want to break a couple rules and will cover for you if you need them to. I can’t even count how many times my brother has yelled at me for doing something stupid or been disappointed in me for making some dumb mistakes. It dawned on me recently that my brother’s opinion is the one that matters most to me, even more so than my parents. He’s my biggest role model and the person I look to first for anything.
2. An older brother doesn’t tip-toe around anything. I mean anything. Tough love is their go to and more than often, it’s the best way to go. Older brothers don’t want their sisters to be timid or easily messed with, so they teach us to be tough at a young age. From wrestling to not putting up with the water works display when we’re trying to get some pity, our older brothers teach us how to stand strong and not put up with any crap. I never understood why my brother told me to toughen up when I would start to cry until I had to put myself together when I had fallen completely apart. Going through things like heartbreak and losing friends, a girl needs someone to tell her to suck it up and stand tall. An older brother won’t feel bad for you or try and make you feel better, he’ll remind you that you’re above letting other people control your emotions. He won’t dilly dally around the situation and be overly sensitive like everyone else, but rather he’ll tell you to stop crying over someone that doesn’t deserve to even cross your mind. Crying with your girlfriends is helpful for sure, but sometimes a girl really needs her older brother to remind her who she is and what she deserves.
3. Older brothers take the fall for most (bad) things that happen when growing up. If you’re outside playing and you trip and get hurt, your older brother is to blame for not watching to make sure you were okay. If you get caught doing something you’re not supposed to do, he gets blamed for being a bad influence (sorry brosef..). I remember times when I would be in trouble for doing something and all of a sudden the attention was turned to my older brother and I fell into the background. Even so, they aren’t mad about it. Older brothers will take the blame for you even when they don’t have to just because they wanna look out for you.
4. Finally, older brothers show you what you do and don’t deserve, and will never let you settle for less. They show you what it looks like to respect someone and teach you how to tell someone to back off if they don’t have that respect. I can honestly say that my standards are sky high and it’s because of the expectations I have been shown through my brother and the way he treats others. He’s taught me to stand up for myself and never change who I am or what I believe in based on someone else. Thanks to growing up with an older brother, I have a tough side and it has helped me in more situations than one. I won’t let people intimidate me and I believe in my own strength, which has helped me to become the confident and outgoing person that I am today.
All in all, I’m thankful and blessed to have grown up with my brother as my best friend and role model. He’s helped me to become the person I want to be and taught me to never stand down when I believe in something. Older brothers teach you to fight for yourself and give you the prep you need to go out into the world and overcome anything that gets thrown your way. Alongside that, they listen when you need to talk, make you laugh harder than anyone else, and support you more than you ever thought possible.
