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What Is A Half-Sibling?

I will never use the term half-sibling.

Apr 19, 2016

I have three siblings; two older brothers and an older sister. My sister is only a few years older than me, but the gap between my brothers is significantly more. I could not ask to have better relationships with any of my siblings and I could not be more thankful.

Whenever I tell my friends that I have brothers they are almost always surprised because they usually only know about Chloe. It is always fun to explain that my brothers are ten and thirteen years older than me. I'm not sure why I find it so great, but I love having older brothers because I know they will always be there to protect me. I'm not sure my brothers know but if a boy ever bothers me I always threaten to have my brothers take care of them because I know that they would do anything for me.

During the beginning of the semester, I heard another boy telling other students about his siblings. One of the other students made a comment about his sister not being his real sister because she was his half sister. I was honestly disgusted and had no clue how I would react if anyone ever said that to me. How could a sibling not be real? Is his sister a fake person? Are my brothers just in my imagination? I will still get frustrated thinking about this situation even though it has been months later.

I was at the Medical Center at the beginning of the week filling out a form and there was a spot to fill out if you had siblings. There was a line to fill out their name, age, and if they were a sibling, half-sibling, or step-sibling. I sat there for over five minutes thinking about how to fill out this section. In the end, I realized that these are my brothers. I never consider them only half-siblings and there was really no point to start then. When I was asked about the age gap, I simply explained that my Dad had had my brothers in his first marriage and my sister and me in his second. The man then attempted to clarify that they were my half-brothers. I think I probably gave him one of the dirtiest looks I've ever made at that point. I responded, "No. They are my brothers."

I believe the terms half-sibling or step-sibling are only used when a person has harsh feelings toward their siblings for some reason. I really can not think of another reason. It's possible I just do not understand because I have always really looked up to my brothers. I never intend on using the term half-sibling in the future either. I believe that calling my sister my sibling and my brothers my half-siblings can make it seem like they are less important. That is definitely not the case, and never will be. I love all three of my siblings equally, and would not want to replace any of them. I will honestly never be able to thank them enough for everything they do for me, and I really wish I could.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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