Not everyone is lucky enough to have an older sister. I wasn't only blessed with one, but three. Yes, growing up with multiple females in one estrogen-filled home comprised of countless hormonally driven arguments and copious amounts of ludicrous fights regarding non-returned items sounds rough — but I would not trade the memories with my sisters for anything under the sun. The truth is, those of us with older sister's acquire a privilege that not everyone is given. Rarely do I take the time to tell them just how much they mean to me, so here are 10 things that we should all take a second to thank our older sister(s) for.

1. Making mistakes.

Not that you ever enjoyed overhearing your mom and dad yell at her or watching her suffer the consequences of her mistakes, but she always turned a lesson she learned into one that you could learn from, too. She’s helped you avoid so many bumps in the road because she gave you a clear warning by facing them first.

2. Having your back.

Regardless of the situation, your older sister is always the first person to step in and defend you. Her reputation is tangentially linked to yours and she will have no one disrespect either of you.

3. Letting you in on adult stuff.

You were probably the only ten-year-old that could catch onto the older kids' sexual innuendos and understood the lyrics to Get Low — all courtesy of your older sister filling you in on everything you needed to know, way before you needed to know it. But hey, thanks to her, you were always a step ahead. Plus you got to dodge the birds and the bee’s talk with your parents.

4.Covering your ass.

She never told your parents that she saw you at that party the night you were “sleeping at your best friends house.” She always found a way to keep you out of trouble, even though she was grounded for a month when she tried to get away with that at your age.

5. Being your first best friend/roommate.

Even if she always got to be the teacher playing school when you were growing up, at least you always had someone to play with. And although she made you scratch her back until she fell asleep, your "sleepovers" are some of your best memories.

6. Keeping your secrets.

Chances are, there are few people that know as many of your secrets as your older sister. You use each other as diaries, and there’s something special in knowing she will never judge or tell your deepest darkest secrets.

7. Being someone you can look up to.

Ever since those rare occasions when you were little and she actually allowed you to be around her friends when they came over, you’ve always admired everything she did. Though you may not always want to admit it, a part of you has always wanted to be just like her.

8. Being shamelessly honest with you.

Yeah, it may have hurt when she told your new bangs made you look like DJ Tanner’s long lost sister, but at least you knew better next time you got a hair cut.

9. Paving a path for you.

She broke-in your parents so that you can get away with 10x the stuff she did, even if she did always roll her eyes at the fact that your curfew was 2 hours later than hers was in high school. And even if you always pretended to get a little annoyed when everyone called you “so and so’s little sister," part of you always felt kinda cool that everyone knew who you were.

10. Just getting it.

No matter what it is, no one freakin’ gets it like she does. She will sit and bitch about how unreasonable your parents have been lately. She will drive slowly by your ex-bf’s house 15 times in a row while you duck in the passenger seat to figure out who’s mysterious car is in the driveway. She won’t judge you when you go back for that second brownie or third glass of wine.

There’s more than blood between you two — there’s a bond that is like no other in the world. Who else would’ve taken you thong shopping for the first time, just so you weren’t the only seventh-grader with a panty line? Love just doesn’t get more unconditional than that.