Some people have siblings, some don't. Some only have a sister, some only a brother. If parents have one girl and one boy, they're usually pretty content with just that-- they get to deal with the best of both worlds. If you are a girl who has a brother, consider yourself lucky.
At a young age, most girls despise their brothers and wish they had a sister instead. You know, to play with and share clothes with and so on. I felt the same way up until I was a freshman in college. Something changed that I had never known was present. Something felt different. I was getting ready to move away to attend a university, and something was hurting deep inside me that I wasn't quite sure about.
I was going to miss my brother. He had moved away before I was a freshman in college, but since I was also moving, it finally felt real how far apart we were. Of course I was going to miss my parents a ton as well, but the bond between a brother and sister is something every sibling should have and I was already missing him like crazy. I was scared of the real world and not living in the same house as him. I was going to be living on my own with no one to blame for any of my mistakes or argue with over who drank the last Coke.
Whether I realized it or not, the 18 years I lived with my brother taught me so much and molded me into the woman I am today. He taught me how a guy should treat me (by explaining how every guy I introduced them to sucked), how to accept my flaws (only because he pointed them out so much and made fun of me), how to face my fears (by hanging my stuffed pig from the ceiling and scaring me), taught me that my period is not an excuse to be mean to people (I think it still is sometimes), taught me that hard work pays off (by calling me names because I couldn't get up on the water skis until I got so frustrated with him that I HAD to prove him wrong), and taught me that no matter how many times I screw up or how horrible life is, I always have someone to look to and fall back on.
A brother is a role model for when you don't know who to look to for guidance, a go-to man when you don't know how to face mom and dad, a support system that will blatantly tell you how much you suck and where you need to improve, and a best friend for life.
Without my brother, I would have an empty heart. I used to always hope and pray for a sister, and even ask my parents to give me a little sibling, but I'm extremely thankful for my one brother who gives me a hand when I ask for it and a push even when I don't.
