The Bond Between Siblings

  According to Brandy Zadrozny from "The Daily Beast" news website, around 18% of married women only have one child. And from my perspective of having two (older) siblings, I feel... not necessarily bad, but I wish these only children know what it's like to have siblings because it's a great thing. When you have siblings (whether older or younger), you have someone to play, someone to annoy (whether you're older or younger), and someone to love and share a special connection with. The bond between siblings is indescribable. They connect on a level so much deeper than even the best of friends have. Siblings grow up together, know each other's secrets, share inside jokes, and always have each other's back.

  My sister Emily is four years older than me, and I love her with all my heart. We get each other, our minds just click. I can be my weirdest self around her, and she still loves me. Emily and I have some sort of sibling intuition that cannot be understood by anyone who doesn't have siblings of their own. We rant about the same things, share our stories with each other, give each other advice (with complete honesty, of course), and always lend a helping hand. As a child, she was the one I went running to when I was scared. My brother Nathan is two years older than me, and since he's a guy, we have a different relationship but a close one nonetheless. I admit that when we were younger, he tormented me (like all brothers do) to the point that I cried and asked my parents why he was so mean, why he kept causing me so much misery. But as he grew up and matured, he stopped troubling me as much as he used to. He and I get along now; we wrestle, exchange good-natured banter, and he keeps my life interesting. Without my siblings, life would be significantly boring.
  The bond that siblings have is irreplaceable. It's a shame that only children will never be able to personally experience something like that. They have no one to talk to about their problems, no one to relate to the problems they go through.  My sister Emily is four years older than me, and I love her with all my heart. We get each other, our minds just click. I can be my weirdest self around her, and she still loves me. Emily and I have some sort of sibling intuition that cannot be understood by anyone who doesn't have siblings of their own. We rant about the same things, share our stories with each other, give each other advice (with complete honesty, of course), and always lend a helping hand. As a child, she was the one I went running to when I was scared of the dark or from a movie. My brother Nathan is two years older than me, and since he's a guy, we have a different relationship but a close one nonetheless. I admit that when we were younger, he tormented me (like all brothers do) to the point that I cried and asked my parents why he was so mean, why he kept causing me so much misery. But as he grew up and matured, he stopped troubling me as much as he used to. He and I get along now; we wrestle, exchange good-natured banter, and he keeps my life interesting. Without my siblings, life would be significantly boring.
  The bond that siblings have is irreplaceable. It's a shame that only children will never be able to personally experience something like that. They have no one to talk to about their problems, no one to relate to the problems they go through. Siblings are each others nemeses, protectors, best friends, partners. They want the best for each other, always pushing each other to reach their potential. I know that with my siblings, we try to challenge each other, encourage one another to do our best. And even though we give each other a hard time, annoy each other for the fun of it, we're still siblings; we still love each other. They still have a place in my heart just like I have a place in theirs. Sure, being an only child has its perks: full control of the TV, all the attention, all the pampering and spoiling; but to me, those perks are nothing when compared to the joy of growing up with a brother and/or sister.
  Siblings help you grow as a person, help shape your perspective, give you knowledge that you wouldn't have otherwise learned. Brothers and sister fight (of course they do, they're siblings) but at the end of the day, they love each other, like I love my siblings. At the end of the day, they're family and that love shines through. It always does.