I am the second-oldest out of four kids. I am the only girl. We are all two years apart and are fortunately very close. As you can imagine, our childhood was beautifully chaotic. All I have to say is God bless our parents, they are freakin’ saints. We had such a great childhood and I could not be more grateful for all that we were given and were able to experience.

I learned a lot growing up as the only girl in my family. Having only brothers definitely shaped my upbringing. So today I chose to write about some of the lessons I learned from those three weirdos I am blessed share the same DNA with.

1. Drama doesn’t fly

As many times as I’ve tried to pull some dramatic nonsense, my brothers and parents have always rolled their eyes if it is not a serious issue. I learned that being dramatic is a waste of energy that could be put towards something more productive. Hearing “Cat you need to get a life” when I was trying to exaggerate something that upset me usually did the trick to cutting the crap. They did not want to deal with it, so I gave up on thinking drama was ever necessary.

2. Punch each other and get over it

Not that I condone violence, but the mentality of addressing the issue and moving past it right then and there has always been something I respect. Growing up we would get into fights, beat each other up and then we’d be singing ballads 15 minutes later. Siblings are so weird like that, but I love it.

3. Always have your sibling's back

Whether it’s involving family, friends or strangers, my brothers have taught me and shown me the value of loyalty when it comes to siblings. Your mom wants to know who did something bad? Don’t snitch. Some friend hurt your siblings’ feelings? I’ve found myself no longer trusting them. I’ve always found comfort in when my brothers no longer like someone who treated me poorly. Issues with a stranger? They’re about to face the wrath of one Mullin plus whichever other Mullin is around. Sibling bonds are unbreakable; loyalty comes with it, cherish it.

4. Don’t stress the small stuff

Watching my brothers deal with the similar stuff I went through growing up I feel like I learned how to pick my battles. My brothers taught me to not waste energy stressing things I could not change. Whenever I would feel overwhelmed about something I found myself always trusting my brothers advice. Things that I would find incredibly important and “life ending” in middle school and high school, my brothers would usually say “who cares Cat, that sounds like an incredibly small deal to me”. And just like that I would realize “wow, I am embarrassed that I found this so important to begin with.” Just hearing that it wouldn’t be a life ending issue actually changed my perspective on things very effectively.

5. Anywhere is a wrestling ring

Not that this is a life lesson, I just genuinely learned this from having only brothers. We used to get into fistfights and jump each other in grocery stores, driveways, living rooms... (ours and others….sorry people who witnessed). One time a girlfriend of family friend told my mom that spending time with the Mullin children was good birth control after a weekend at our house. I’m sorry but also not sorry because that woman was weak. And rude.

6. Being able to laugh at yourself is really important

You need to get over taking yourself so seriously. Being able to laugh at yourself is imperative to letting things go. Embarrassing things happen and if they are hilarious, you just have to roll with it. Pranks are going to happen and they should. Humility is a really good trait to have and makes relationships more fluid I believe.

7. Don’t hold on to grudges — forgive quickly

In the end, what is the point of holding a grudge. No matter what the size of the fight is, you need to work through it. It is important. This applies to a relationship with a sibling as well as friends. There is no point in holding on to old baggage, it does nothing beneficial. Don’t let the past be detrimental to your present and future with family and friends.

I feel nostalgic just writing about my brothers’ influence on who I am today. I love them so much it is overwhelming. Those boys are my boys. We are all so different but it seems to work in ways I still have yet to understand. I turn to a different brother for advice or help depending on what I need. That is a gift I never take for granted. I seriously cannot express enough how grateful I am for those three boys. They’ve been next to me through everything and have always had their own way of supporting me. I wish you all could know them the way I do. I love my brothers. I am so happy I am who I am because of us being a big family. I am grateful my parents let us wrestle each other until we fell asleep. I am happy I learned to laugh at dumb things I do in front of people. I am proud I learned how to throw a mean right hook, and I am deeply appreciative to know that I can always rely on my brothers for advice and unconditional love and honesty. Even if it hurts my feelings sometimes to hear. They are a major part of who I am and I continue to use what they have taught me every day.