I'm the second-born in my family, and the first girl. And while my older brother will always be my main bro-ski squeeze, there is a bond between sisters that transcends any kind of bond I've ever known. Anyone who has sisters, whether you're the oldest sister in your clan like me or the baby sister of the family, will understand. Having sisters is like having built-in best friends for life, and also like having a live-in telepath who knows exactly what you're thinking whether you like it or not.
But I suppose I didn't always feel so totally positive about having sisters. Growing up I was always super possessive of my sisters, to a laughable degree. When my first sister was born, I was 2 years old, and rather than dismissing her or being angry like a typical toddler, I basically thought she was mine and proceeded to treat her like my personal baby doll. By the time the second sister came along, there were enough years between us that it became all too natural to helicopter-sister her and feel compelled to give out unwarranted advice throughout her middle school and high school career (she's got one more year left to go, so I'm not quite finished yet). But now that we're all getting older, the dynamic between the sisters has definitely had some changes. There are some things about having sisters as an adult that can't be beat:
We Can Drink Together Now
Or at least I can with one of my sisters (sorry, kiddo). It's not like we get rip-roaring drunk around each other, since we both come from a family of people who are way too lazy to bother, but there is the weirdest kind of excitement at getting to drink with your younger sister for the first time. You just want to flail around your IDs and yell at everyone in the bar, "LOOK! WE'RE ADULTS! LOOK AT US BEING ADULTS TOGETHER!" Plus, as an older sister, it was cool to pretend I was really experienced and knew what I was doing when we first went out.
We Can Share Just About Anything
Now that we've all reached our adult heights and are vaguely the same shoe size and dress size, all bets are off. It's a good thing we like each other, because I can't tell you how many times I've snuck into one of my sisters' rooms to borrow a dress, or how many times I've opened my closet to find it had been raided. We all have diverging senses of style, too, so we can always help each other mix it up.
Literally Nobody On The Planet Will Be As Honest As They Are
Like, brutally honest. I can hold up something in a shopping mall and one of them can just be like, "No." And that's that. We're not afraid of offending each other; Even if the sting is particularly brutal, we'll get over it. That's what sisters do.
Emergency Tampon Raids
I'm living with my parents now, so I live with both of my sisters, and thank god for that. We are all notoriously irresponsible for staying well-stocked in the period department, but odds are at least one of us will have planned ahead for the inevitable week-long apocalypse where we all cycle up – that is the sister whose room is going to get looted barbarically.
You Have A Built-In Date At All Times
Part of the reason I'm in no rush to find myself an S.O.? If there's anything I want to do or see, I can drag a sister to it. Why torture a date by making them sit through jazz in the park or go see The Best of Me in theaters when I have two perfectly willing dates already?
You Also Have "S.O." Curators
The only reason our sister is dating her boyfriend now is because we let it happen. It's one thing to get mom and dad's approval, but it's entirely another to get a sister's, whose tastes are possibly even more discerning than any parent's. I could never see myself dating someone my sisters didn't like either. Think about it: if you end up marrying this person, they're going to be around for every major holiday or family event for the rest of their lives. If they don't get along with your sisters, it just isn't gonna fly.
You Have So Many New Stories To Tell Each Other Now
Two of us have gone away and graduated college only to come back home, which means we all spent a few long years separated from each other, and so much can happen in that amount of time. When you were a kid, you didn't ever have anything novel to say because there was a 90% chance your sisters were also present for anything noteworthy that happened in your life. Now it's a whole new gossip ball game.
Your Inside Jokes Are Killer
Or, at least they are to you, now that some of them are decades old. Get ready to freak out strangers by spontaneously laughing like an escaped Batman villain after just exchanging that one look.
Somebody Will Always Join In Your Random Dance Party
You know all the same songs and it's not like any of your frightening attempts to bust a move are going to be shocking to the girls who grew up with you, so yeah, if somebody starts singing it's about to become party central in here. If you value your life or your eardrums you won't let the three of us anywhere near the soundtrack to Wicked.
You Can All Give Each Other Advice Now
I used to be the only one doling out advice; I'm the oldest and I'm a nosy monster who just can't help myself. But now that we're all older, the life experience scale has leveled out enough between the three of us that we can all give each other sound advice that's actually meaningful and helpful, since it's coming from someone who knows you better than anyone else.
You'll Have Multiple Maids of Honor
Our weddings are going to be so chill when they happen, because we have double the sisters picking up the slack. Bring it on, Pinterest!
You're Basically Telepathic
Instances in which this is particularly helpful: whenever someone hands you a dessert menu, whenever you are stuck in a conversation with someone creepy, or whenever there is a plot twist The Vampire Diaries.
You Know Just How Much You've Grown Up
Who can measure your maturity better than the people who have watched it happen? Although we watch each other change over time and it's not always a big shock to us, it's pretty cool to have someone around who knew you back in the days were a ratty-haired brat and can measure just how far you've come. It's equally awesome to watch your sisters grow from the squabbling little baby people they once were into lovely young women.
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