Growing up with 16 cousins has definitely made life interesting, so here are 10 reasons they make the best friends.

1. They can't leave you:

I get it, it sounds creepy, but think about it; if your friends get mad at you, they can just cut you out of their life. If your cousin gets mad at you, they still have to see you at family events and gatherings, and it would be super awkward if they didn't talk to you! There's enough awkward in the world, no one needs more.

2. They're always around:

Like I said in point one, they're probably going to be at a lot of family gatherings, holidays, birthday parties, etc. So automatically you have someone to hide with when all your distant relatives start pinching your cheeks and asking you the same questions about school.

3. Endless amounts of inside jokes:

Since you'll be seeing a lot of them, chances are some funny things will happen! Personally my cousins and I could write a trilogy of all our inside jokes.

4. They won't judge you:

Chances are they're just as strange as you! Being brought up in the same family leads to good odds of similar personality traits, which for my family means we have a little army of 16 weirdos.

5. They understand your aunts and uncles:

Now I don't know about you, but my aunts and uncles are just as crazy as the cousins, to the point where it's actually indescribable. You have to see it to believe it, and thats what your cousins are there for, so you don't have to witness it alone!

6. They witnessed your various fashion trends:

Your cousins have seen you go through some serious trends, in my case they watched me go through my emo phase (you were right mom, it was just a phase) my hippie phase, and I'm sure there will be more to come, but the important thing is, as mentioned in #1, they can't ditch you for them, no matter how much secondhand embarrassment you cause them to feel!

7. If they live nearby, you'll never be bored!

Now I'm aware that this is extremely unusual, but majority of my 16 cousins all live within two miles of me. We see each other every single day, we go on vacation together, and then we go back home and see even more of each other. From swimming and boating at our local lake, to golf cart rides and corn hole tournaments, basketball games, cousin sleepovers and movie nights, we have a blast and my mom knows if she can't reach me, just call one of them because that's who I'll be with!

8. Our friends think we're weird:

They don't get why we spend so much time together, they think its strange that every Friday night when we could be out partying, we gather at our aunts house for pizza night but hey, cousins by blood, friends by choice!

9. You grew up together:

Side by side we've taken on the world, we've watched each other change physically and mentally, we've seen each other in hard times and in the best times, we've faced challenges and loss together, but also have seen each other accomplish their goals and achieve great things, but most importantly, you've been there for each other through it all.

10. Unconditional Love:

No matter how many arguments you get in, you know that you'll always work it out. Because you're best friends, and that's what best friends do.