Whenever someone would ask my mom how many children she had, she would say three, then point at me and say, "Yep this is my baby," no matter what age I was at the time -- 12, 16, and now even when I am 22. Yes, growing up with two older brothers wouldn't be that much fun to some girls, but to me, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Here are just some of the reasons why.
1. You always had someone to bother or annoy
Even if one brother was gone, the other one was around to annoy or pester. I can now thank you for letting me bother you at times and annoy you when I clearly was bored or had nothing better to do.
2. They made you tough
All those times they picked on you or punched you in the arm, you took it every time. To the years you got attacked or wrestled to the ground, you knew you had to get right back up and fight back. They made you develop tough skin and taught you to never take crap from anybody.
3. Becoming an athlete was easy
You got to watch them play all through the years, and soon, you got into playing sports as well. You never had to worry about who would play catch or hit balls with you. You always had someone to throw the football around with or beam in the leg while playing tennis ball baseball in the front yard. You always had someone to push you to the best of your ability.
4. You grew up to be competitive
You always wanted to beat your older brothers in whatever the competition was. You wanted to accomplish beating them so you had bragging rights, whether it was playing a video game, basketball, jackpot in the front yard or being right in an argument. Growing up with a competitive attitude turns out to be a good thing when it comes to wanting to achieve your goals in life.
5. They were overprotective of you
Introducing a new boyfriend....
6. They let you be the tag along every once in a while
Whether it was tagging along to go get ice cream or sitting in the basement with all of their friends, you always felt cool just getting to be around.
7. Upper hand in high school
In my case, I got to attend high school with one of my older brothers, and I always felt like nobody would mess with me or pick on me because I was his little sister. You always felt cool being able to talk to the "older crowd" when you were just a little freshman because of your older brother. And you never had to ride the bus to or from school, so you rode away in style.
8. Someone to ruin family pictures with
Let's be honest, nobody likes when Mom tells you to get dressed up and sit in front of the Christmas tree to take a "nice" family photo. You have to learn how to have fun with it and truly capture that kodak moment.
9. When it comes time for them to tie the knot, you get sisters you've never had!
When they get married, not only are you no longer the only girl in the family, but you get brand new sisters! You have another girl to go to for advice other than your mother at times of need. Also, when it comes time for you to get married, you automatically have two great bridesmaids.
10. They have your back no matter what
No matter the issue at hand, you always have someone to call up and get advice from. You know that they aren't afraid to tell you like it is, even if you could potentially be wrong. At times, they would drive you up a wall, but by the end of the day, you knew they were your best friends again.
