There are a lot of things that have happened in my life that I find so dreadfully normal. It’s only when people give me a strange look after delving into a piece of my life that I realize not everyone has experienced the same things I have. 

One of those experiences is having sisters close in age. I’ve started to notice that the bond among three sisters is unlike anything else. Not many people out there understand that while it may seem like we’re being mean to each other, we’re actually showing just how much we care.

When we were around the ages of 9 and 11, my older sister, Saidee, and I would get ready for school Monday mornings at our dad’s house. The morning went down exactly the same every Monday we were at our dad’s. 

My dad would leave for work, and Saidee and I would stand side-by-side in our bathroom trying to look at ourselves in the mirror as we got ready. She would push me a little to get a better look at her mascara. I would shove her back to spit my toothpaste out, and in a snap, we were in an all-out physical brawl. 

Eyeliner would be smeared on my sweatshirt as she called me “ugly,” and I would shove her down the stairs and call her “fat.” 

Then the doorbell would ring, and my grandma would be there with Burger King mini-cinnabons ready in the car to take us to school. 

The first stint of the drive would be a bit silent, then we would be dipping our cinnamon rolls in the same package of icing as we giggled about something the other said. It was as if Saidee hadn’t taken out a chunk of my hair, and I hadn’t bruised her knee just minutes before.

One time, I was playing Barbies with my little sister, Silvee, Boo Boo as she’s more commonly referred to. Being four years younger than me, I was a bit over the doll fad, but I decided to give her some company.

She didn’t like how I was playing and chucked our ballerina Barbie machine straight at my head. I had a bump on my forehead for a week.

Small tricks like tripping her as she went down the stairs, making fun of her for crying, telling her fibs that I knew would make her livid, was how I got her back throughout our adolescence. 

Saidee would steal my clothes, and I wouldn’t find out until I saw her wearing them on her Instagram post. I would then do the same thing to Boo Boo. It was like our version of the game, telephone.

These clothes would be the ones that we would call ugly just days before our heists.

But don’t feel bad that Boo Boo didn’t partake in the stealing, she got all the new clothes anyways being the youngest.

I don’t think anyone has been meaner to me and my sisters, than we have been to each other. 

But, we are each other’s built-in best friends. 

Saidee likes to shop, hyper fixates on new hobbies until she gets bored of them, and has a laugh and personality that will draw you in from across the world. And, in older sibling fashion, she will always stand up for Boo Boo and I if we can’t do it ourselves. 

I suffer from “middle child syndrome,” thriving off of keeping to myself, reading, and grunge music playing as my life’s soundtrack. I dye my hair when I’m itching for change and I’m always there for my sisters when they need advice or just an ear to vent to. 

Boo Boo will always be the baby of the family, no matter how old she is. She could be an ambassador for Lululemon, is more organized than Marie Kondo, never takes the bill, and loves animals more than anything. She is the sister to call if a favor is needed, and only sometimes lets us down if we don’t pay her enough. 

I talk to at least one of my sisters once every day, and I really don’t know how people live without them. 

Who do you go to if you need outfit advice? Dating advice? When your mom is driving you crazy? When you’re hiding from the cops at a high school party and aren’t sure what the next move should be?

I’m sorry to all of you who didn’t have sisters that you beat up while they verbally demolished you. I’m not sure how you had any fun as a kid, and subsequently learned how to be cool as an adult.