Today, about 20 percent of children are “only” children, leaving the other 80 percent with a lifelong best friend, a role model, someone to mentor, an innate enemy (or an interesting hybrid of all of them), otherwise known as a sibling. While typical siblinghood seems controlled by some unseen force of nature, dictating who gets along and when in a pattern as crazy as Florida’s weather, others seem to be unwavering pool days or a relentless storm. In Paramount Picture’s new movie, Thor, siblings Thor and Loki are pretty much a genetic hurricane. No seriously, because Thor is the Norse God of Thunder, get it? Never mind, just go see the movie. If you follow the instructions at the end of this, you might get to brush up on your Norse mythology for free.
While my sister and I have had our ins and outs (such as being in “like” with the same guy [oops, don’t try that at home] or her outing me to our parents about a secret or two), we’ve never gone pulling swords on each other or anything. Okay, maybe that’s because those aren’t that easily accessible in most safe homes lacking avid collectors of samurai gear. The point is that between who is borrowing whose clothes, who is getting whose sloppy seconds, and who is getting the better of the two different gifts Grandma sent for us to choose, we know each other well enough to laugh together, trust each other enough to ask for advice, and love each other enough to forgive. Some siblings, on the other hand, can’t even be in the same womb-I mean, room-with each other.
In honor of Thor’s release, here are some anecdotes from UCF students where the ultimate argument-winning phrase (obviously, “your mom!”) just couldn’t cut it.
“[My siblings] are older than me by five to seven years, so when I was younger they would always get mad when I tried hanging with them and their friends. They would kick me out of the room! I feel like there are so many [stories]. We used to fight a lot. One time, my sister slammed my finger in the door because I refused to get out!”
–Doreen
Be thankful you were not given the opportunity to be corrupted earlier than necessary.
“When we were really little, my brother and I were fighting in the middle of Publix. A guy asked if he could video tape us to be on TV, and my mom said yes. She was so excited and told all of her friends to watch us! Turns out, it was on a program about kids misbehaving at grocery stores. She was pretty embarrassed.”
–Ali
Now I see why people ask for their faces to be blurred when filmed.
“So back when AIM was popular and everyone was always on the computer, my sister and I used to have to share time on the computer. And me, being the oldest, got more time than her, which of course made her mad. So one day I went to sign onto my AIM and I couldn’t…I remember asking her if she had done anything and she said no, but with an evil grin. To this day I feel like she changed my password on purpose so I wouldn’t be able to get on, which would allow her to have more time on it, especially because I wasn’t able to get on and that’s all I really ever wanted the computer for, other than homework. She denies that she did anything or ever messed with my AIM.”
–Sarah P.
If she did do it, at least you know she can keep a secret.
“A lot of my memories have been repressed, so I am trying to gather enough thought to pick one…I have a sister Rachel, and a brother Nathan. Around the time that I was 8 years old and she was 6 years, Rachel and I had an obsession with Barbie dolls. When I mean obsession, I am not exaggerating. We had over 100 dolls combined…We had Barbie, Kelly, Skipper, Stacie, Ken, and the little boy Todd…My sister had this thing that she had to have the perfect dolls, clothes, and names. We fought over everything. After she finally calmed down and got her two …Mary-Kate and Ashley dolls, the dream house, and the convertible she was finally happy. One day I wanted the dream house and convertible. I took them for myself and she threw a fit. While I smiled for finally getting my way she stomped and said “I will never play Barbies with you again” and I was hurt by that. Our sibling rivalry was shown at odd times like fighting over the Barbie dream house, but in the end we still love each other.”
–Sarah W.
I hope she keeps you away from her real house and car.
“A couple years ago I borrowed a shirt of [my sister’s] that was new and wore it before she did, and she got so mad at me. She tried ripping it off of me and we were yelling at each other I got so mad, I didn’t talk to her for like, 3 days…When we were little we were really mean. When she was like 3 years old she bit me really hard. I was bleeding and I was told that she as little and didn’t know any better, but I didn’t care. Later, when I saw her standing on a blanket dancing in front of all my family members, I grabbed the edge of the blanket and ripped it out from under her. She fell really hard and I got in trouble.”
–Alana
Wow, are you sure your parents weren’t vampires? Just kidding, because everyone knows that Bella and Edward have the first vampire/human hybrid.
From a male knight:
“I threw a lacrosse ball at my brother once, and another time we threw pillows at each other and broke one of our mom’s vases. We used to not get along at all. That happened a long time ago, when I was 10 or 12 maybe, [but] now were pretty tight. We didnt really get over it, just kind of matured and grew up-slowly becoming good brothers.”
–Brian
I thought guys only got that way after drinking. Wait, please tell me you guys weren’t drinking…
Thankfully, most knights seem to have outgrown their sibling rivalry. Some even pay money to get a hundred more of those monsters we call brothers and sisters. In the Thor movie, the two brothers (nicknamed “blood brothers” to provoke images of more than just being blood related) don’t seem to have matured much in that department-at least, Loki, Thor’s mischievous brother, could take a few tips from us. Even if you can’t relate, the cast should lure you to the theaters. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, a certified Her Not-On-Campus Cutie, as well as Oscar “Best Actress” Natalie Portman-aka my acting role model.
If you’re still not making money at your job (where mostly collegiate patrons can’t afford to tip), we have a solution. Be one of the first 11 people to invite 10 people (who accept, of course) to the Her Campus UCF Facebook group and you and a guest (maybe your sibling!) can attend a free screening of Thor! For everyone else, Thor hits theaters May 6th.