My sister and I don’t have the typical sibling relationship. For whatever reason, when my sister was 11-years-old, my parents decided they wanted to have another baby. My sister and I never grew up super close due to the age gap, and it bothered me for a long time. I used to envy my friends who had siblings close in age. I felt like I missed out on a part of my childhood by not being super close with my sibling. It’s hard to have a close relationship with someone when you grew up in two completely different generations. We’ve always been at two completely different points in our lives. When I started elementary school, she graduated high school. When I graduated high school, she was pregnant with her first child. Even though we didn’t grow up with a typical sibling relationship, I wouldn’t change anything about it.
I remember when I was younger I wanted to be exactly like my sister. I used to steal her clothes (which were probably way too big for me), write class papers for school about how she was my role model and constantly brag to my friends about how cool my older sister was. I’m really thankful that I had someone to always look up too. As a young kid seeing her graduate college, get a job and start a family, it showed me everything that I want to do with my life when I grew up.
I’m not going to lie, I was a pretty spoiled kid growing up and my sister definitely had to take on a lot of responsibility at a young age. I can only imagine what it was like growing up with a spoiled little sister after being an only child for 11 years. Imagine being a 17-year-old and having to bring your 6-year-old sister almost everywhere you go, whether it be hanging out with your friends or to go get food. I couldn’t even sleep in my own bed until I was eight and slept with my sister almost every night. My sister had to take on a lot at a young age because of me, and I was just too young to realize.
My sister and I haven’t had a perfect relationship, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. After she learned not to snitch on me to my mom anytime I told her anything about my life, I got to have a young-ish adult figure to talk to about my life. It’s nice to talk to an adult figure who’s still a little young and will always have my best interest at heart. I used to really resent the fact that I had a sister so far apart in my age, but now I’m thankful that I got to grow up with such a responsible, kind sister. Despite some difficulties establishing a strong relationship throughout the years, I wouldn’t trade my sister for anything.