I'm not going to lie, I despised you growing up. You annoyed the life out of me. You always picked on me, bullied me, and bossed me around. But thankfully, as we got older, we become a lot closer and I am so thankful for that. Growing up with older brothers is a childhood that not everyone can relate to, and if you can, you have my greatest sympathy. However, despite all of the tears and torment we may have experienced, it's a life we would never trade in for anything. With that in mind, every day realize I am grateful to be the little sister to some of the the best men in my life thus far. Here are some things I've learned/obtained from having older brothers:

1.Thicker skin:

What I learned from living in this house: if you cry you can't hang with the boys. If I wanted to play with the boys, I had to be tough like the boys. I had to laugh things off like the boys. I had to be along for the ride, whatever the ride would be. Nine out of 10 times I would get pushed down being the only girl, but I've been taught to always get back up.

2. Their protection:

No matter how tough they may act, the age difference, or how much you embarrass them, when it comes to older brothers, nobody messes with their younger siblings. We were never much of a lovey-dovey family so we didn't share our feelings 24/7, but I knew that when I did need some guidance or even a few words of encouragement, I could turn to them for help

3. Preparation for living with a boy:

Fact- boys can be so gross. If you're surrounded by them on all sides, it can be almost impossible to ignore their habits. I have learned to deal with endless days of putting the seat down and looking before I go. Courtesy of my dad, leftovers are gone the next day and if you don't want something to be eaten that you made, you better cover it with sticky notes in the refrigerator or hide it in the fruit bin.

4. Tough love:

Having older brothers can make you an easy target. You will 99% of the time be the target. You're always the butt of the joke and the one to pick on because you're the youngest and you're a girl. If you got upset or tattled to mom there would only be more ridicule to follow and then the cycle would start all over. Thankfully, I grew to know they were only teasing and that's their way of showing affection (at least that's what I tell myself).

5. Being one of the guys:

Growing up being surrounded by boys, you pick up on their humor, how they talk, and even how they think (which isn't always a good thing). There comes a point in a young woman's life where she doesn't want to be known as "one of the guys" because she has hopes of one day having a boyfriend. But, sometimes it really helps and having brothers has made me much more comfortable around boys.

6. How to not be a "princess" 100% :

Please note; there is nothing wrong with loving dolls or the color pink or running around playing dress up. But that was just not how I was raised. I grew up being such a tomboy that I didn't even realize notice I didn't have any girl friends till middle school. But, with older brothers it's almost impossible to become a prissy, "girly" girl. Especially since all of the cousin's on my mother's side are boys, too, and they were always at my house, too. I thank my brothers for passing on their traits of not taking everything so seriously.

7. Unconditional love

Sisters are not easy creatures, I know. We can be annoying, we can be needy and we can get in your hair. But despite all of our changes in life and through all of our "phases", we will always know that having brothers is such a great part of life. Our borthers have shaped us into who we are today, and even though it was tough being ignored or teased, we wouldn't trade them for anything. To all the younger sisters; tell your brother(s) just how much they mean to you because sometimes we forget to mention it.