Every girl goes on and on about how having an older or younger sister is the best thing in the world; they’re there for you during your first breakup, always inform you of when skinny jeans are in and boot cuts are out, how to put on makeup and all other things “girl.” They’re always down for a mani/pedi and dinner date or an ice cream and movie date. I’m sure sisters are great, but what about all those awesome brothers out there? The ones who are always down for a late night one-on-one basketball showdown in the driveway and a McDonald’s run after, or when you have a crush on the cutest guy in school but need someone to tell you he’s also the biggest jerk in school ... That’s when brothers defeat sisters.
I don’t know about any of you, but my brother is one of the most important and influential people in my life. If I listed everything I have learned from him over the years, this article would be way too long for anyone’s liking. Yes, guy friends are great and they’ll have your back when they want to, but they will never compare to the love and protection you receive from a big brother. I know there are girls out there who are still wishing for a sister, so for all of the ladies who are still wishing for that sister to come along, I hope you realize how truly lucky you are to have grown up with an older brother because they are hard to beat. If any of you have the great brother that I do, you will find yourself agreeing with these attributes that make a brother one of the best things in the entire world.
1. You learn to hold your own because his best advice was to “suck it up” and to stop feeling sorry for yourself.
When the boys in your high school or residence hall are making fun of you, he will tell you that you need to learn how to stand up for yourself and tell them off, and then of course proceed to bring out the “tough guy” and give you the 411 on how to take care of these types of guys so that when none of your friends know what to do, it will be you who stands up to them and tells them off because your brother never allowed you take any crap from anyone but him. Crying is not allowed. He can make fun of you all he wants, but as soon as it comes from someone else, he knows you’ll be okay because he has taught you how to stand up to the jerks in this world. And if that doesn’t work, he will have no problem approaching them and taking care of the issue because no one messes with his little sister or any of her friends.
2. You have a built-in and forever best friend.
Yes, we all have our best friend that we met in kindergarten or first grade, but they weren’t there when you were born to hold you for the first time that led to immediately falling in love with you. Nor were they there for you on your first day of kindergarten to tell you to relax and that they would be waiting for you when you got home at the end of the day. Or when you do get into a huge fight with your best friend, he will be there to tell you that she isn’t worth it and it's about time you realize it, or that she is and you need to stop being ridiculous and apologize for being dumb and getting mad at her for not coming to your 18th birthday dinner celebration … its not like you won’t have plenty of other birthday parties to invite her to.
3. You will never settle for less than what you deserve because your brother just won’t allow it.
Your brother is an expert in the boy world and because you grew up with him, you’re pretty good at judging the good and bad guys in this world. But sometimes girls are blinded by the charm and attraction of these boys. Your brother will have no problem telling you about all the locker room stories he gets in on and the way those heartthrobs talk about the 10 girls they’re talking to and how they’re supposed to keep each girl from knowing they are talking to another one. Although you and your brother don’t have deep heart-to-hearts with tears and the whole deal, he knows what’s best for you and won’t even let the guy get close to you because he has “dude senses” and already knows what his intentions are.
4. He is your role model in every aspect of life.
Why wouldn’t your brother be your role model? When you were younger, he taught you the ways of convincing your parents to get you a new phone, a new pair of basketball shoes because the ones you wore last season are terribly worn out (even though you could probably play two more seasons in them), and of course he teaches you just what it takes to make the boys in school cry when they are about to do the same to you. He has also taught you that nothing comes easily, and if you really want something you’ll have to work for it because no one, including Mom or Dad, is going to hold your hand through life. Without even knowing it, he has demonstrated how to make the best of your worst days, and there are very few people in this world who have the ability to do that.
5. You have high expectations for yourself because you watched him succeed and you don’t want to be a disappointment.
Obviously, it has always been, and always will be a competition between you and your brother. That’s just how it works. From making the coolest LEGO structure, to having the most songs on your Hit Clip, to having the funniest outfits for homecoming, to of course having the best grades, you were constantly working your tail off to be as good, but usually better, than him. Even though neither of you realized it, you were both making each other better people throughout this whole competition in life. As you watch him chase his dreams, it motivates you to finish that 10-page paper you have due at the end of the semester that seems like the absolute end of the world, but in reality it is just a small bump in the road on the way to your own dreams.
6. People will describe you as “down to earth” because your brother never let you get upset about the little things and forced you to look at the big picture in every situation.
Simply put, your brother never allowed you to complain about all the ridiculous things girls get upset over. If at any point you started complaining about how this girl wouldn't let you sit with her at lunch or told you your shirt was ugly, he simply told you to stop wasting time trying to impress her and win her friendship, and instead find people who truly care about you and want your friendship.
7.You know the ACTUAL meaning of a “love-hate” relationship.
Those times when you cannot even bear the thought of looking your brother in the eye because he literally eats everything that looks relatively appetizing in the cupboards at home and leaves you to starve to death, or when he rats you out to your parents because you said you were one place when you were really at another. Although it seems like you’re mad at him more than you’re happy with him, it only takes about 10 minutes and an inappropriate joke to patch things up, because no matter how hard you try, you can’t stay mad at him for much longer than a few minutes.
8. He is just as weird as you are.
When you’re at home just hanging out with your brother and you feel a random urge to break out in song or dance because your favorite song just came on the TV, you know that he will either make fun of you until you stop, or he will join in. Whichever he chooses, you know that no judgments are being passed, even if he is making fun of you, because he knows that you get your weirdness from him.
9. He will always be down to gang up on your parents with you.
Even though he has ratted you out in the past when you’re trying to pull a fast one on your parents, if you need him to help you persuade your parents to let you go on that spring break trip or get those new Nikes you’ve wanted for so long, he’ll do the best he can to help you out, because he remembers how much effort it took for him to convince them too.
10. Most importantly, he will always be there for you in the end.
When you feel like the world is crumbling at your feet and you feel as if you can’t do anything right, hewill always be there to catch you when you fall, because he never wants to see you anything but happy.
