Siblings. Your biggest competition and also your biggest supporters.

I remember someone telling me that I was “born with friends” and that I should “be grateful”. I didn’t think much of it at the time but now I get it.

I have two siblings, both of them older than me and moved out of the house in the blink of an eye. I used to dream about the day they would move out and go away to college, but when the day finally came, I was emotional. But then I remember either of them going into my room without asking and I was somewhat relieved.

I have also heard people describe their relationship with their siblings in one of two ways It’s either ‘don’t breathe in my direction’ or ‘I’d help you hide a body’. Or even the situation where you accidentally hurt them or something and you say that they can hit you back if they don’t tell Mom or Dad.

Both statements are true.

As complicated and somewhat dysfunctional as the sibling relationship dynamic can be, there are a lot of positives.  I honestly haven’t found anyone who I trust more or people who I could relate to more. It helps if you grow up in the same household to and someone to talk about your parents with; someone who knows exactly what you’re talking about and what you’re going through. The relationship you form with your siblings is one of the first relationships you form and also sets you up for forming relationships with other people.

Senior Maureen Palmer has an older sister who lives in Arizona. “My sister and I hated each other when we were younger,” she says. “But now as we’ve gotten older we’ve gotten really close. I miss her. She may piss me off but I still love her.”

However, Senior Sammy Moore had something else to add. “Having siblings is a roller coaster of emotions, sometimes more bad than good but I’ll miss them if they are gone for long. While this is true, blood isn’t always thicker than water.”

National Siblings Day was Wednesday, April 10 and all over the United States, brother and sisters were celebrating their relationship with one another. Even though the holiday is not federally recognized like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, the Siblings Day Foundation is working to change this. The observation has become international, spreading as far as the United Kingdom, India, Japan, the Philippines and Nigeria.