I hear people complain about their siblings all the time. And don't get me wrong, I complain about mine too; but more often than not, I realize how lucky I am to have her. My sister and I are three years part, meaning that we've spent the majority of our lives on the planet together. Seeing as I was only three when she came along, I wasn't too interested in boys to acknowledge her. And she's close enough to me that she didn't grow up in a world any different than mine. We definitely take advantage of each other sometimes, but at the end of the day, I know she is the one that will be there for me forever. Over the years I've grown to realize how lucky I am not just to have a sibling, but one that is so close to my own age that we often get mistaken for twins (even though we look nothing alike). So if you have a sibling close to your own age, here are some reasons you should realize how lucky you are for the gift you didn't even realize you were given.
They're a built-in friend.
Think back to when you were younger and your parents forced you to run errands with them. It was pretty boring, but at least your sibling was there too. Together you could try to find something to entertain yourself, like smelling all the shampoos in the grocery store while your dad takes 30 minutes in the meat department. Your sibling is always there on vacation when your parents drag you on some historical tour that you would rather not be on, and you can complain about it together. As you get older, you still have the same interests, so you can hang out with each other without being forced by your parents. When all your other friends are busy, you still have each other.
They're the only one who truly understands your parents.
Let's face it. No matter how great your parents are, there are going to be times that they drive you up the wall. You can complain to your friends about it, but you will never really get the response you want. They don't see your family behind closed doors, only your siblings do. When you say "Mom and Dad are being ridiculously annoying today," the only person that really gets it is your sibling. Being close in age means that the older one isn't so much older that they sympathize with their parents, or that the younger one isn't so much younger that they think Mom and Dad can do no wrong. You're close enough to agree that sometimes, they just really are being that crazy.
You grew up at approximately the same time.
As the older sibling grows up, starts going on dates, and starts developing their own interests, the younger sibling is right behind them. This is a great thing because you are able to talk to each other about what's going on in your lives. You also probably even have similar interests, because as the older one tries something, the younger one does too. Although it sucks sometimes that your younger sibling got a phone at a younger age than you did (because it's only fair that if you have one, they should too), you're OK with it because it means you can call them whenever you want. You were in high school at the same time, so the younger sibling knew which teachers to avoid, and the older sibling wasn't too out of touch to remember how much precalculus and cafeteria food ruined their day.
They taught you important life skills.
When you and your sibling are close in age, a lot of communication skills come from your interactions with each other. Your sibling might be the only person with whom it is socially acceptable to fight over who takes the first shower or who has to feed the cat, but through these arguments you learn the art of forgiveness. You may squabble with your sibling three times a week, but you forgive each other almost immediately afterwards. Through this you learn to compromise, to apologize, and to forgive. You learn how to share and how to make sacrifices for each other. If your sibling only likes the vanilla creams in the Valentine's chocolate heart, sometimes you just have to give it to them, because you want to make them happy. My younger sister taught me that sometimes, sucking it up and letting her be happy is more important than getting something first. Everything I've learned in communication with her, I've been able to use with the people outside of my family.
But most importantly, you'll always have someone there for you.
Because no matter how much you fight over things, they are still your sibling. They've seen you at your worst and choose to look past it. You know if you're in trouble, they'll drop what they're doing to come and help you. They'll be there to defend you time and time again, and in the future, they will be standing by your side on your wedding day and helping raise your kids, because you've been together since you were tiny, and your sibling isn't going anywhere. They'll be there for you until the end, because you've been there for them their whole lives.
