My sister sorts out her clothes next to the fitting rooms. The lady asks us our names and writes them on the boards hanging from the doors. She takes another look at us. Then she slowly squints her eyes and lifts her finger. I already know what she’s going to ask. “Are you two twins?”

   No, my sister and I are not twins; though I blame our similar appearance and mannerisms on our close relationship. 

   We like the same things. I like Ramen, she loves it even more. We both love comedy shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers. We both adore our dogs. I like Marvel, and she’s absolutely obsessed with it. In fact, she’s probably reading a Daredevil comic right this minute. 

   I’ve often wondered if other siblings are as close as we are. What I found was that there are many different sibling relationships.

Dylan Markovic: mature relationships

   Sometimes, siblings fight a lot as children, but once they get into middle school and high school, they stop. They still may fight about small subjects though. Jr. Dylan Markovic described such a relationship. “I have a sister. We are two years apart. We used to fight a lot more, but as we have both matured we have become more of friends. We argue about stupid things like who is playing music too loud while we are doing homework and when we don’t want to hear each other talking, but it usually only lasts a few minutes,” said Markovic. 

   As high schoolers, most people seem to have gotten over fighting with their siblings. The number of siblings also seems to affect how much they argue. Around 70% of the people who responded that they had more than 3 siblings (7 out of the 21 respondents) also said that they fight often. 

Meagan Rockafellow: having common interests

   Sr. Meagan Rockafellow has a thirteen-year-old brother. “I think we have some things in common but not enough where I feel like we are competing to be better than each other in a specific activity. I swim and do water polo while he does baseball and tennis. We have very similar personalities though: we are both energetic and driven. We love to watch movies together, play ping-pong, and play with our dog, Finn,” Rockafellow said.

   The reason that their relationship is so good is that Rockafellow realizes how lucky she is. Only children don’t have the same support that children with siblings have. “Of course we fight, but he is a built in friend. If I didn’t have him, my life would definitely be more boring.”

Hannah Dick: the struggles and benefits of many siblings

   Sr. Hannah Dick is the oldest of 3 blood siblings and 5 step siblings. Having so many siblings in one house can be hard for obvious reasons.

   “Sometimes I feel like I was the “test” child. Even though I am the oldest, I feel like sometimes I am not trusted, while my little siblings get away with everything,” said Dick. 

   She explained that they struggled for attention a lot when they were younger, but now that they’ve matured, they understand that they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. 

   Dick and her siblings enjoy hiking and playing games. Their best hobby though: pranking. 

   “One time when we were younger my siblings and I had a prank war on each other. My brother covered my bed in shaving cream and my sister and I put flour and glitter in his box fan. We made such a mess and got in big trouble, but it was really fun.”

   Dick’s relationship truly shows how much fun siblings can be. Though siblings may fight a lot as kids, like the Markovics, once one realizes just how lucky they are, like Rockafellow, having siblings can be such an adventure.