Being the eldest sibling is awesome.

However, being an older sister is even more awesome. When I was a little kid before I had any siblings I knew exactly the kind of family I wanted. What I mean is I knew the siblings I wanted. Some of you may be thinking, "What does that mean?" It means I wanted an older brother, so I could hang out with his older male friends and potentially date them. Then I wanted a younger sister so I could be that big influential sister. I wanted a little sister to do her hair, to do her make-up and to give her tips on life and boys. Seeing as I was the first born this wasn’t going to possible, unless say for adoption, but that wasn’t on my parents' agenda. My young, childish brain clearly didn't do the math on that one when calculating my family. I couldn't have an older brother, but I there was still hope my parents could conceive a younger sister for me.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t get an older brother or a younger sister—I got two younger brothers.

When I was three my first brother Ryan was born. I think at that time I was just excited to have a little baby come into the world. I was very protective of Ryan and I wouldn't let the little kids at my daycare touch him while he sat in the car seat. They could only look at him from afar. When my other little brother was born it was a different story. When it was discovered that my mom was pregnant with Tyler, the youngest of the three siblings, my parents called Ryan and me into their room one sunny afternoon for a “surprise”. When they called us in I immediately suspected and thought, "Disney World!" I thought we were going to Disney World. Mom and dad are going to surprise us with an awesome trip to Disney World. I could not have been more wrong. I don't exactly remember how they told us but the words Mickey Mouse, Disney World, or the Magic Kingdom we're not mentioned. All I remember was them saying, “You're going to have a little brother or little sister!” Great another baby. I was eight years old at the time and had enjoyed being an older sister to Ryan. But that moment after my mom told us her big news, I knew she was going to have another boy. In hindsight this was all probably for the best—there's only room for one princess in this household.

On a serious note, I love being an older sister. So here are a few things I’ve learned and cherished over the years that I'd like to share with you:

Being the eldest sibling and a girl meant my parents automatically believed my lies over my brothers’. If I did something wrong, but my one of my brothers’ potentially had a small hand in the situation they were blamed for it because I was a perfect little girl and also had a compelling argument. Something lame like, “I was just trying to show them that taking your money is a bad thing; they must’ve misread the situation…”

As a girl and the first child my parents, weren’t as strict with me when it came to going out, curfews, or punishment for that matter. My mom told me that as a baby I was a really good child. Ryan on the other hand not so much and Tyler was a little more independent. Because of this my parents gave me a little more leeway than they did with my brothers and that was pretty sweet. The boys, however were more closely watched.

But being the oldest means more than just getting away with murder, being an older sister was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received.My brothers mean the world to me. Our relationship is everything and a solid brag-worthy one at that. Though there were many times when I took on the title a little too far. Sometimes I felt it was my divine right as the oldest to be the acting parent when our parents were say, in the other room. I don’t want to say I was a dictator but, “Because I said so, I’m older,” came out of my mouth, a lot.

Having the responsibility of being the eldest meant that sacred traditions such as Santa, the tooth fairy and even leprechauns had to be protected, not spoiled. I encouraged my brothers to believe in the magic of Christmas and even wrote notes from a leprechaun using my green calligraphy pen. That one I’m proud of. Spoiling that magic for a younger sibling is just bad karma (in my humble opinion).

I also encouraged them to laugh and one up each other’s jokes at the dinner table. Even though the harder we laughed the more frustrated our dad became, I knew that this laughter was strengthening their character (How? Not sure but it’s part of our relationship today).

Relationships. As a big sister my brothers could come to me with any relationship issue. When Ryan was falling in love every week, or Tyler struggling to discover which One Direction member was truly his soulmate, I was there to listen and offer my wisdom. I will also admit that as we've gotten older the boys have been able to give their advice on my own relationships and I'm forever grateful—even if I’ve ignored the advice.

One of the biggest confessions and gifts of being an older sister is keeping your younger siblings secrets. Both boys have promised me that if they are struggling they would come to me if they felt they couldn't go to our parents. But I warned them, the moment they tried keeping an issue from me (don't get me wrong they have their secrets) that would affect us, the siblings, are the whole family I would lay down the sister law. And that's not something to be messed with.

Love and respect. My brothers may be younger than me but I still respect them as who they are and love them for that. Through the years the boys and I have established our boundaries (though some accidental texts have been sent that just can’t be unseen), respected one another enough to speak up when one of the siblings is just shy of fucking up, but most important we are there for one another. Ryan and Tyler know that I would go anywhere in the world to help them and I know they would find me if I were in need.

That is a sibling kind of relationship I will cherish and hold onto forever.

This one if for you, Ryan and Tyler, I love you! Your older, little sister (They both tower over me) XO