Once upon a time, roughly 24 years ago, there was a young toddler who was peacefully asleep in his bed. Much like he did every night, he dreamt of far away lands and daring adventures. Little did he know that this night wasn’t the same as all the others. In fact, his life would change forever the following day.
One Sunday afternoon in the month of September, this toddler had received the greatest promotion one can get. He went from being an only child, to now carrying the lifelong title of older brother. If it wasn’t obvious, the toddler in question is my older brother, and I am the younger sister that eternally blessed his life with my presence.
In today’s day and age, me and my brother are essentially besties for the resties, but it wasn’t always that way. Since day one he and I have been polar opposites. Boy vs girl, clean vs messy, playing inside vs outside, introverted vs extroverted, the list goes on. These differences caused us to butt heads on everything, even something as simple as picking a restaurant for dinner. Essentially, we had the same issues everyone has with their siblings.
However, unlike most siblings, we never went through a phase where we absolutely despised one another. At the end of the day, if one of us wanted to watch vines together or play mario kart, the other was always happy to join. Being able to simply walk across the hall whenever I needed a partner in crime was definitely appreciated. But there is a huge difference between our childhood relationship vs our young adult one.
What had started off as giving each other rides or accompanying each other to run errands, quickly became being there for one another when they really needed it. Your sibling is the only person in the world who will truly understand what your life is. They always give the best advice, because they know all the nitty gritty things. My brother knows my hobbies, my friends, my life at home, my likes and dislikes, pet peeves, just as I know all of this about him. So when he needs to talk, he knows he’ll be understood to the core.
Aside from the sentimental aspects, having a sibling prepared me for the reality of life. Many people don’t realize how skills such as patience, sharing, compromising, and many others, all come naturally because of years of learning, courtesy of your sibling. I’m not trying to direct any negative connotation towards only children, but let’s just say that even to this day, I can tell if someone has a sibling based on how they handle situations that life throws at them. So, for all those reasons, amongst an abundance of others, I’m forever grateful my parents brought me into his life…Even on the days where he pushes my buttons…all of them.