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Two sisters smiling for the camera

20 Things You Should Thank Your Sister For

Sisters have a special bond like no other because they're the perfect combination of family member and friend. Your sister is a blast to hang out with, but still someone you can rely on. If you are lucky enough to have a sister, you know that you can be absolutely furious at her one minute for dripping wine on your favorite blouse, but then if she needs you the next minute, you’ll drop everything and be there for her.

Despite the spats that you and your sister had growing up, you know that she could never be replaced. Here are 20 reasons you should be grateful for your sister. Read this and then give her a call.

  1. If she was older, she already broke in your parents.
    She got a C on her 9th grade biology test? Grounded. You got a C? “Do better next time.” If she still lived in the house when this happened, she was probably angry that you got away with so much, but she still (almost) never complained to your parents and let it slide to make your life easier.
  2. You always had someone to hang out with at family get-togethers.
    While your parents talked endlessly to relatives you barely knew, you two could always keep each other company in the corner and make fun of your cousin’s ridiculous haircut. Then, when Grandma Lois came over and started asking you about your plans after college or if you had a boyfriend, she would jump in and save you from your own awkwardness when you didn’t know what to say.
  3. She’s the only one who truly understands your family’s dynamic.
    No one else will ever grasp your family’s weird traditions of eating Mexican food every Christmas Eve, or know what you’re going through when your parents guilt trip each you about never texting them back with the lie, “Well, your sister always texts back immediately...”
  4. She’s not afraid of being brutally honest with you.
    Most of your friends and your boyfriend are pretty obligated to tell you that you look great with that new “smokey eye” makeup because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. If you’re with your sister, though, she’ll let you know that it looks like someone punched you in the eye and will make you wash it off before she’ll be seen with you in public.
  5. She’s your role model.
    Seeing her graduate as valedictorian from high school made you want to achieve that too, even if you were a bit jealous of her at the time. Your extended family giving her lots of attention and your parents bragging on her to their friends and co-workers got old pretty quickly, but deep down, you were proud of her too.
  6. You can talk to her about things you wouldn’t ever dream of telling your parents.
    You just have to tell someone about this cute football player in your Algebra I class who asked for your number, so who do you call up? Your sister, obviously. She’ll actually be excited for you as opposed to your dad who would continually make jokes about cleaning his shotgun.
  7. You always had a playmate growing up.
    Boredom was never a word in your house. You two were always making a huge mess in the sandbox outside, glued to the new Harry Potter computer game or Wii Mario Kart, or fighting over whose turn it was to hold the remote when The Amanda Show came on television.
  8. She made a good name for you.
    Teachers may have called you her name so much that you started answering to it, but it was never a bad thing. She was the perfect teacher’s pet, so they all loved you before they even knew you, all because of her good attitude and perfect grades. And then they met you.
  9. It was like a sleepover every night.
    Especially if you shared a room with or had the upstairs of your house to yourselves, you could stay up and giggle with each other for hours after you were sent off to sleep, all while playing paper dolls on the floor between your beds.
  10. She taught you that the world doesn’t revolve around you.
    Both of you were forced to share everything, even the new Barbie Jeep you got for Christmas and wanted all to yourself. Being able to borrow her watercolor set whenever you wanted almost made up for it, though. You were able to learn from a young age that sharing is caring, and it’s actually fun once you get used to it.
  11. She always had (and always will have) your back.
    If one of her friends was mean to you about slowing down the mini golf game at your sister’s birthday party, she would always call her out on it and take your side, even if she was annoyed by you too. Later in life, if that guy you were crushing on stood you up for a date, he’s dead to her. Maybe literally, if she’s mad enough.
  12. She could make fun of you, but no one else could.
    If anyone else picked on you for having a Lisa Frank backpack in fifth grade or bullied you at school because you were third string at basketball, she would step in and tell them off. Then everyone would leave you alone for fear of your big sis’s wrath. Then, once you got home, she would tell you just how childish she thought that backpack was.
  13. She covered for you.
    If you snuck out of the house to meet your secret boyfriend or came home way past your curfew, she would help you lie to your parents to save your skin. Then she would probably berate you afterwards and tell you she wouldn’t do it again (but you knew she would).
  14. If she was younger, she kept you young.
    Your little sister always loved playing with her favorite Barbies, Beanie Babies, and Furbies, and even if you were ten years old, you were always excited to play when she begged you to join her. You may not have told your friends about it, but you have to admit it was a blast.
  15. If she was older, she helped you grow up.
    Since you saw her go through puberty you didn’t think you were dying when you first entered the world of “womanhood.” You were honestly not that worried when you started high school since your big sis already filled you in on the best English teacher to take and how to jump to the front of the a la carte lunch line before they ran out of frito chili pie.
  16. You could always steal her clothes.
    You were almost as excited as she was when she saved up enough money to buy her first pair of Silver jeans because after the first time she wore them, they were fair game. Then, you could make your classmates jealous of your $100 jeans without actually having to drop a penny on them.
  17. She took some of the pressure off of you.
    Your parents had bigger things worry about in your sister’s life so if you got caught telling a white lie about how you were going to the “sleepover at Courtney’s house” it was never a huge deal. After all, your sister had the ACT coming up or college admissions interviews that your parents wanted to accompany her to, so your punishment was never more than a slap on the wrist. They simply didn’t have the time or energy to do much more.
  18. She’ll never judge you.
    She’s told you several times to call her if you’re ever too drunk to drive home from the club, and you’ve done it too. No matter how much of a drunken fool you were, she still took you to Taco Bell to get a 5-layer burrito, and then put you to bed in an almost motherly way (minus the lecture). You can laugh about it the next day and she’ll tell you about the time she was drunk at the same club.
  19. She knows you better than you know yourself.
    This goes beyond picking the perfect birthday present. If you’re struggling with whether or not you should break up with your boyfriend of six months, she’ll know what’s going on before you ever say anything. She’ll give you the advice you probably don’t want to hear (but need to hear), and she’ll still know exactly how to make you feel better with an Oreo Sonic Blast and cheese fries.
  20. She’s your forever best friend.
    You’re kind of stuck with each other for life, but there isn’t a single other person you’d want to hold that special place in your heart. There were times (probably during your teens) when you tried to pretend that your best friend was more important than your sister. After that never worked out, you finally admitted you were glad to have such an awesome, caring sibling who loves you more than anyone else ever could.
Last Updated: August 26, 2015