Growing up with siblings means a lot of things: having to share a bathroom, being in constant competition, and having the food that you hid taken from the back of the fridge. It means getting punched in the stomach for cancelling a DVR recording, and being slapped for mentioning an ex-boyfriend. On the flip side, though, it means having built in best friends, and there are some things that only people with these built in best friends would understand.

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1. Fighting over the front seat

You used to call “shotgun,” and your dibs were respected. Somewhere down the line though, your sister stopped caring and turned it into “whoever runs to the car fastest sits in the front.”

2. Clothes mysteriously disappearing

You have an important event tomorrow, and you wanted to wear the new sweater that your best friend bought for you. Unfortunately, it’s nowhere to be found. Until you check your sister’s closet, that is.

3. Being broke (for all the wrong reasons)

You’re not broke because you spent too much money on food or lost it at school. You’re broke because you snuck out or went to the movies with that guy your parents despise, and the cost of silence from your siblings is twenty dollars each.

4. Being compared to them by teachers

This will happen not once or twice, but dozens of times. It will start innocently, with your teachers calling you by your sibling’s name. Soon, though, they will start mentioning things your sibling previously did in their class. Your teachers will most definitely take out their frustrations on you, because unsurprisingly, your sibling doesn’t care enough to be bothered by their perpetual jabs.

5. Fighting over the TV

They don’t care if tonight is the season finale of your favorite show. When it comes to the TV, there’s absolutely zero compromising.

6. Communicating telepathically

There are settings in which it would be inappropriate to say exactly what you want to say to your siblings. Luckily, all it takes is one look for them to understand the message that you are trying to convey.

7. Projecting the blame onto them

You did something stupid yet again, only this time, your parents found out. This leads to a lecture during which you repeatedly try to project the blame onto your sibling. Sure, you did something wrong, but your sibling is more at fault. Or, at least that’s what you’re telling everyone.

8. Denying resemblance

Everywhere you go, people tell you that you look just like your siblings. To this, you make a gagging noise that lets the offender know that they have clearly done you wrong.

9. Never being bored

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The good thing about having siblings is that there is always someone in your house for you to annoy. Even on the most boring of days, you have a little brother to start a prank war with. You pretty much always lose, but it’s the effort that counts.

10. Having a built in support system

Just because you constantly fight with them doesn’t mean that they’re not one of the best support systems that you’ll ever have. They’re kind of forced to deal with you, but they do a really great job at it. Between texting you at 3 A.M. to let you know they hate the boy you’re talking to and sending you care packages when you’re away at school, they’re pretty much always keeping you in mind.

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Whether you realize it at first or not, there really isn’t anything better than growing up with siblings.