Growing up, my family has always been a huge part of my life. I'm blessed enough to say that I can talk to my family about virtually anything. Having my dad as my mentor, my mom as a friend to confide in, and my brothers to go through life with me and make memories with is something that I'll never take for granted. Having siblings is incredible; it's like having best friends you didn't ask for but wouldn't dare to imagine life without. My brothers, one younger and one older, have taught me so many important lessons. This is a glimpse at what being the only girl in the sibling trio is like:
1. I'm rarely grossed out.
My brothers have talked about just about everything under the sun. Bathroom talk, bad language, you name it and I'm sure I've heard it all before. My brothers have painted a pretty vivid picture in my head solely from the conversations I've been included in. To this day, not too many things make me cringe, which is a beautiful thing.
2. My older brother is my role model.
In any situation, whether it be an older sister, brother, or best friend who's a couple years older, there's quite a lot to learn from them. Each time my brother got in trouble for something by my parents, I immediately noted not to follow in his footsteps. All of his mistakes were lessons I learned without actually having to endure the pain of going through them. But it's more than just the bad stuff that I learn from. He gives me advice when I'm feeling discouraged and he grounds me when I get too worked up and worried about life out of college, and I couldn't thank him enough for that.
3. I'm a role model to my little brother.
Actually, I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm his role model, but I'd like to think he looks up to me in some aspects. I help my little brother through the God awful institution called high school and I think that earns me some credit. Together we talk about things like girls, the gym, his friends, his grades, etc. It's nice having a brother who you can talk about anything with.
4. I've been introduced to such diverse music.
About 300 CD's and vinyls line the walls of my brothers' room. If you have brothers, specifically an older brother, you probably have the same experiences as I do; they pressure you into listening to the "good, classic stuff" instead of the "BS music of this decade." A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Red Hot Chili Peppers are all amazing musicians I would've never discovered if it hadn't been for my brothers force feeding me their music by blasting it through the house.
5. All the greatest memories involve my brothers.
We grew up in a town just outside of Atlanta, and the home we lived in housed some of the best memories I've ever had. Baking cookies on Christmas, getting into pillow fights, building snowmen together, playing house, roaming around the backyard and going to the lake are just a few cliches out of the many memories that still make me smile to this day. There was never a dull moment when we were all together. Not to mention I might have been a devil child when I was young, but I meant well and always had a good time with them. The location doesn't really matter, but when you've had such fun times, it's hard not to forget where you came from.
6. Being away from them makes me realize how important they are to me.
Now that I'm in college 4 hours away from home, it's weird not seeing them everyday. Whenever something funny happens, I have the urge to walk into the other room to tell them about it and forget that they're not right next door like they used to be. The good thing about this is that I appreciate them more now that I rarely see them. Winter and summer break are much more enjoyable because the time with them is so valuable.
I couldn't imagine my life without having brothers. Even though we fought often as little kids, we no longer bicker over stupid things but rather enjoy each others company and appreciate what we each have to contribute to a conversation. So to all the girls who have brothers, I'm sure we can agree that we wouldn't have it any other way.
