National Siblings Day

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

William Shakespeare

Today is National Siblings Day, so I thought what better time than now to talk about my siblings. I’m the oldest of 4. My brother James is 19, my sister Anabelle is 16, and my sister Stella is 9. They are my best friends, my rocks, my support system, and my whole entire world. We also always say that we’re each other’s soulmates, because I don’t think I’ll ever find a love as pure and as strong as the love between my siblings and I. I’m so incredibly lucky to have them. My relationship with James is so amazing. We have always been best friends, he was the first sibling I ever got and we have been close since the day he was born. Ironically, he’s also the one I fight with the most. We both have very strong personalities and both always want to be right, so we butt heads a lot. But, I can also go to him with any problem that I have and he would help me no questions asked (and that has happened many, many times). Anabelle is 100% my soulmate, my biggest supporter, my voice when I can’t find my own. She gives the best advice, and I trust her with my life. She’s 4 1/2 years younger than me, but she acts like the big sister very often, she is my protector. Stella is my favorite person in the whole entire world. I was 12 when she was born, and she changed my life. She is hands down the funniest person in the family, can find the good in absolutely everything, and has my back 24/7. We always say that if every person lived like Stella, the world would be a much happier place. I could say a million more amazing things about all 3 of them, but perhaps the most important and profound thing that I could say is that they saved me. I’ve openly talked about my struggle with my mental health after being diagnosed with my autoimmune diseases, and I was so incredibly close to ending it all, and my siblings were the reason that I stayed. I couldn’t leave them, couldn’t put them through all that pain. They carried me through everything while fighting through their own battles, and nothing that I could ever say or do would be enough to thank them. Even though I’m doing so much better now, James still asks me how I’m feeling every single day. Anabelle and I have our own rooms, but she still sleeps in mine every night. When my depression was really bad, Anabelle would stay with me at night so I wouldn’t be alone. She knew how hard the nights were for me, and she sacrificed her own sleep to watch me and make sure that I was okay. She also comes to every single doctors appointment with me, and always makes my doctor and I laugh. Stella sits with me while I organize my pills for the week, rubs my knees and hands when they hurt, and always tries to cheer me up when I’m sad. I truly do not know what I would do without them, but I do know that if I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be here right now. They saved me from myself. People can’t believe how close we are, we literally tell each other everything, and we know every little thing about each other. But I think that’s the way it should be, if you don’t have your siblings, then who do you have? I thank god for them every day. So, on this National Siblings Day, I want to say thank you to James, Anabelle and Stella. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you the most, thank you for being the light when I only saw darkness, and thank you for loving me unconditionally even with all my flaws. I love you guys so much.