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SBU | Wellness > Sex + Relationships

Apparently, I’m the Older Sister… News to Me

Ella McIntyre Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I am the oldest sibling, but I rarely feel that it is true. I have one younger brother, who is younger than me by 14 months. As such, I’ve considered him to be somehow both the same age as me and stuck in middle school at the same time. I have never really felt that the eldest sibling TikToks I see apply to my experience as a sibling. 

Growing up with a brother has left me out of knowing the stereotypical girl things. I didn’t know how to braid hair until I was ten, and I still don’t have a real makeup routine. There is a small part of me that feels I missed out on understanding a variety of different aspects of girlhood. I never had an older sister role model to tell me about female friendships, how to properly do makeup, talk to boys, etc. Nor did I have any friends who stepped into the older sister role. That’s not to complain, but to point out an obvious fact that I am still learning how to do most of those things that others learned from their older sisters in middle school. 

I also greatly appreciate the relationship and memories I have with my younger brother. I am endlessly proud of him for all that he is doing, and tend to be the more emotional sibling. In honor of him turning 19 years old on the day this article is published (Nov. 7), here are 19 quick facts, lessons I’ve learned from my brother, and memories. 

  1. I am not good at math. My brother is and has spent hours trying to explain concepts I was learning throughout middle and high school (he was one grade below me the entire time). 
  2. DBALB: an acronym for a saying I came up with for my brother, playing his favorite sport. Ask me about it if you want. 
  3. We generated our own language to annoy our parents when our mom was annoyed; we were fighting as a joke. 
  4. Typing on Snapchat to ask questions or calling gets a faster response than texting my brother. 
  5. My brother has some decent country music recommendations, and that’s where I get most of mine, from him simply playing music in the car (I cherish all of our car rides). 
  6. I easily showcase a more emotional side compared to my brother. 
  7. My brother always drove the Barbie jeep because I was too scared (and would mix up the gas and brake). 
  8. I was known as “J-mac’s sister” the second he entered middle school. 
  9. “Fireball” by Pitbull will always remind me of my brother.
  10. I cannot listen to “My Oh My” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (without getting irrationally annoyed or cringing) because of my brother’s choice in alarm sounds. 
  11. I’ve learned to care less about what others think of me because of my brother.
  12. I highly admire and look up to my younger brother and the person he is. 
  13. I suck at Mario Kart, and my brother exploits this every chance he gets. 
  14. My brother received haircuts from my dad for the longest time and now grows his hair out (occasionally listening to me on how to take care of his curly hair). 
  15. He can read me like a book and somehow figure out exactly how to cheer me up in a pinch. 
  16. He’s the only baseball player I’m actually interested in watching, and I occasionally miss always being at a baseball game. 
  17. He chose to go to Grove City College (in Pennsylvania), about five hours away from home and two and a half hours away from me.  
  18. He is and will be an excellent businessman who somehow convinced me to contribute to gaming consoles, to refused to let me use the gaming console. 
  19. My brother, John, loves me in a silent and loud way at the same time. 

Happy Birthday, bud, enjoy 19, thanks for sticking with me, and see you soon. DBALB, Love you!

Ella McIntyre

SBU '27

Ella is a member of the St. Bonaventure Her Campus Chapter. She plans on writing pieces that cover music, literature, TV and Movies, and the happenings of her life here at SBU.

Ella is a junior Inclusive Adolescent Education and English double Major. She enjoyed doing New Visions Education during her senior year of high school, which gave her a small experience of observing middle and high school classrooms. She has enjoyed exploring all of the clubs and opportunities SBU has to offer, and continues to do so by joining Her Campus, volunteering at the SPCA, as a member of the Bonaventure Education Association (BEA, and SGA representative for SBU for Equality and SBU College Democrats.

Outside of classes and Her Campus, Ella can be found studying, reading, or outside soaking up the sun (whenever it’s an option to “photosynthesize”). Ella also loves chatting with friends as a part of her not-so-quick study breaks.