I am who I am

I have a confession, I am my brothers. I am who I am today because of them. Being the only girl, and their baby sister, made our sibling relationship different. My brothers gave me a male outlook on everything, even when they didn’t mean to, so now, I am different.
Influencing what I wear seems a little odd for brothers to do, but they have. I have my own style of clothing, but simple comments from them show me what I look good in, and what I might not, because whether I like it or not, my brothers are always honest with me. They tell me when I look silly, and I have to change. For example, as a young teenager many girls think they have to wear a lot of make-up, and I did too at one point, until the comment, “Meg, you’re wearing way too much make-up,” got redundant. So, I stopped trying to impress others, and just wore the amount I thought made me look a little more defined.
My brothers have also influenced how I act around boys. Growing up with my brothers, and their friends, taught me something. It taught me to be more relaxed around boys, instead of always trying to impress them. Instead, why not just go up to them and talk, like a normal person. I’ve listened to a lot of stories about, “how annoying a girl was in school today,” because she had made a scene in class, or was overdramatic. Those stories were funny and something to talk about at the dinner table, but it really taught me that being loud and dramatic was not a way to get attention, or at least not the attention that would get you thought of nicely.
My brothers were both very involved in sports when they were younger, and throughout high school. As a little kid, I always looked up to my brothers and wanted to do everything they did. So, when my brothers played baseball I played tee-ball or softball. After a year or two we all stopped playing baseball. Instead, we became more of a football family. Watching my brothers play pee wee football made me want to join a sport as well. My mother was not about to sign me up for football, so I did the next best thing, cheerleading. My mother signed me up and I haven’t stopped cheering since.
Growing up with my brothers gave me a well-rounded attitude, because since I am the only girl in my family, I was always spoiled with very cute, girly things. My brothers were not into playing Barbie with me, so instead, they taught me to be a little more boyish. Although I am not that good at them, I still love to play baseball, football and video games. I will watch any superhero movie I can find the day it comes out, and I can hold a conversation about these things, just as much as I can about shopping.
One thing that I cannot even begin to thank my brothers for is how much they believe in me. Both of my brothers didn’t really work as hard as they could have in middle school or high school and they both later realized that they should have. So, starting from when I was younger, they told me to always try hard in school and that I could do better than they did. They pushed me to do better because they knew I could do more, even when I didn’t think I could. My brothers believing in me has given me the confidence to try harder classes, try a new sport, or a new activity.
I have my personality from my brothers. Growing up with them made me different and I am proud of it.