Normally when we think of our siblings we often think about how annoying they are. How they bug you and fight with you and get you in trouble.

On TV there are always those parents who are continually telling their kids to get along and have to reassure them that, in reality, they actually do like each other. I hear my friends complain about their bossy older siblings or their pestering younger ones, but rarely do we take time out to appreciate them.

My brother is exactly two years and two days younger than me. Our facial features are very similar (same nose, same hair color, same bone structure) and very similar in personalities. I've always considered our relationship rather odd since we rarely ever argue, something I directly associate with a typical sibling-to-sibling relationship. When we were younger we would share birthday parties and would never fight over who got shotgun (we both always just took the back seat). I remember in kindergarten when he first switched schools, I visited him during lunch to make sure everything was all right.

As we've gotten older not a lot has changed. In writing I would assume it all seems artificial, but we have honestly have maintained a pretty good relationship. We cover each other's backs so we don't get in trouble with our mom. We text each other while we're sitting in the same car. I willingly (for the most part) drive him and his friends across town. We even participate in a lot of the same activities, so I will help him with his French homework, and he will convince me to go running with him over summer while he is training for cross country.

And up until recently I've liked to think of myself as the big older nurturing sibling. The one who is most burdened by responsibilities and expectations. I'm supposed to be the one who knows best. The older sibling knows better. They've experienced it all and are supposed to be the role model for the younger sibling.

But I've grown to respect my younger brother more and more throughout the year because I've realized that I'm only the one setting the standard whereas he is, whether our family realizes it or not, being put in a position where he is pressured to meet or exceed the standards I set. I've noticed that it's harder for the younger sibling in the sense that no matter what they do, they are always going to be compared (to some extent) to their older sibling.

All the while I think my younger brother has had different experiences from me. I always thought that since I'm the older one I'm obviously more experienced. But that's not true. He has been attending public school his entire life, whereas I've been in isolated gifted schooling since third grade. Although I've been exposed to new things and different types of thinking, I feel like he's been exposed to more or equal amounts of "real life" than I have. He knows things that I didn't know at that age, and he can even tell me things that I still am not well informed of.

Although we have our stereotypical TV sibling moments with the yelling and the name calling, I think it's safe to say that my relationship with my brother has allowed me to grow to respect siblings in general: younger and older. You should take the time to appreciate the siblings in your life!