I used to dream of having a baby sister to call my own — someone to tell my secrets to, help me do my hair, play in mom's makeup with, paint each other's nails... you know all the girly stuff. However, that dream never came to be. I am the youngest of three children and the ONLY girl. Although it may have felt like a curse at times, having brothers was and is a huge blessing.

Brothers don't always get the recognition that they deserve. I know mine have coached me through so many hard times in my life. When I was starting high school and then college I must have had at least a million questions. They were also awesome bodyguards; pretty much any guy that had an interest in dating me had to go through a background check. They wanted the guy's name, age, address, GPA, seriously everything. They could also see who was good or bad for me even when I couldn't see it; I remember them calling one of my boyfriends Chad — his name definitely wasn't Chad, but they wanted him to know that he wasn't worth their time or mine. They told me things like: "You can't date until you're married," and " You're going to join a convent." Other times they told me things like: "You're so smart kid" and "You're going to go far in life." Hearing those words come from two people who I seriously looked up to made me feel like I could concur anything this world could throw at me.

There were moments when I couldn't stand them; I wanted to play Barbies, they wanted to play Army men. I wanted to play dress up and have a tea party while they wanted to race their bikes and build tree houses. Other moments I felt like I couldn't have found better friends. Instead of learning to braid my hair and how to wear the latest fashion, I learned how to throw a football, swing a bat, race a go-cart, throw a punch, duck from a punch, and most importantly how to strategically hide junk food around the house.

I learned other deep and valuable lessons from them, too. I learned that boys aren't always just rough and tumble, they actually have a really big tender side. I learned that I would always have two really intense bodyguards. I learned what was "cool" way before anyone else did. I had the best secret keepers, the best people to talk to about literally anything, and two people who loved me inside and out knowing all of my worst flaws and failures.

So eventually I stopped wishing for a sister- they were overrated anyways. I knew where the best rope swings were, which windows were the best for sneaking out of, and how to laugh so hard you feel like your sides are splitting. I also learned I would have two forever friends to always have my back.