I have two little brothers, who aren’t so little anymore, but when we were all small, we spent every day together. They were my playmates, my coconspirators, my archenemies and my responsibility. If you think it’s impossible to feel all those emotions when thinking of younger siblings, then you are definitely an only child.

Siblings have a unique bond that is difficult to find. You are literally stuck with these people for multiple years, no matter what they do or say, because you can’t move out when you’re 12 years old and your 6 year-old brother is being incredibly annoying. It can escalate to name calling, screaming, even physical blows, but then the next morning we’re sitting next to each other eating pancakes and watching cartoons.

As a big sister, my brothers have affected my very nature. When I was a kid, I wanted nothing to do with them because they annoyed me so badly. But I realized that I am a very motherly person for all my friends. I want them to be as successful as possible and I’m fiercely protective of every one of them. I care deeply for all the children I babysit for and interact with in my daily life.

I am a little pushy, I’ll admit it, but I have always had their best intentions at heart. I didn’t realize until I was a little more grown up that my brothers are the reason I’m like that. I spent so much of my time as a child looking out for them, almost unconsciously, that I do that to everyone now. The first time I realized how protective I was of them was when my ex-boyfriend told my brother to shut up, and I immediately became angry. I had told him the same thing a million times that afternoon, but that’s my brother! No one else can tell them what to do!

While my mother is obviously the real mama bear, I feel just as protective towards my brothers as a bear to her cubs. I have to look out for them, to act how I want them to act, to teach them the life lessons that I have gained from being older and from being a girl. They should know that studying really is important, but also that they should follow their passions in sports or music. I want them to know that thinking ahead of time is the best thing they can do for themselves. I want them to be the good guys, the ones who I have loved and the ones who will always be in my life. I don’t want them to be the bad guys that I and every girl has inevitably run across as we have grown up.

I have acknowledged that I can’t tell them what to do—they will act as they want to act, whether or not they think its a good idea. I give them my opinions all the time (probably more often than they want to hear it) and I can only hope that they will decide to heed my advice as they grow into men. No matter how old they become, though, they will always be my little brothers.