Here’s the deal- giving you a sister is one of the best and worst things a parent can do to you. Now don’t get me wrong I love my sisters (yes even the bratty youngest one) but that doesn’t mean I like them all the time. Having a sister is rough. You never get new clothes; you're always are missing half of your closet and of course, your parents don’t find a problem with y’all sharing rooms because that’s what they had to do when they were little, and it built a bond and blah blah blah. Since I grew up in a house with 3 sisters (which later became 5 sisters) I think I am accustomed to the life that I was thrown into before I knew what I was getting myself into.

              When I was a little girl, I never understood why my mom insisted on making me wear my older sisters’ hand-me-downs. I wanted new clothes. I wanted Hannah Montana t-shirts, Twinkle Toes, and jeans from Limited Too. I didn’t want my sister’s gaucho pants and Hollister tees. Did I ever get my way? No. not even close. The cycle didn't stop there though. I got hand-me-downs pretty much my entire childhood almost up until I was in high school. For a while, my older sisters and I started sharing clothes because we all lived in the same house again for the first time in years. It got to the point where we all hated each other because we all had problems with the way we treated each other’s clothes and shoes. My dad ended up grounding us from sharing clothes. A couple of years later my oldest sister handed me a big bag of clothes for me to look through to see if I wanted any of them. 90% of the clothes were mine. If that isn’t textbook for what having a sister is like, then I don’t know what is.

 Everyone that has siblings knows that each sibling has a sort of place that they hold with your parents. For our family, it went like this: Jade (the oldest) was always good at everything she did. She played every sport (and was phenomenal at them), she was a cheerleader, she wore the cutest clothes, was popular, and she was just oh so cool. Mika (the older middle) was always the sassy one. She was kind, mature, loving, sensitive, but could hold her own for sure. She never did any wrong and she was of course always right. I am the younger middle. I was always the more introverted, studious one (I grew out of that). I’m technically not an older sister but I’m not the youngest so I made sure I would get noticed. I was THAT annoying sister. Always in your business, always wanting to hang out with you and your friends, and ALWAYS telling on you to mom. Lanie is the youngest. She is the quirky one. She’s always been a bit outspoken and she’s always gotten her way. She got to do everything we didn’t, and she could do everything we weren’t. She was untouchable.

              We were BAD when we were little. Like those kids you see in public and wonder if their parents even spank them because you certainly will for them. Except we were only bad at home- when our dad was at work. See the thing about having sisters is that you had someone to play with whenever you wanted (and they wanted to play with you). We did a lot of mean things to our youngest sister because she was so little, and we thought it was funny.  We would roll her up in a blanket and then roll her down the stairs- yes, all 20 of them- and if she came out of the blanket at the bottom, she got a point. Except she was rolled up into a comforter and she never unrolled unless we unrolled her. However, she loved playing along and our mom let us do pretty much whatever we wanted.

              I always wanted to play with my older sisters when I was little. They were so cool and interesting, and they wore makeup. So, my sister finally let me play with her and her friend on one condition- for their music video I had to let them push me down the stairs whenever Fergie sang “London, London, London” in her song London Bridge. I, being the naive little girl, I was, let them. And of course, they had to practice it a million times to make sure it was perfect, and I probably needed to be checked for a concussion.

              Another time we all decided to play hide-and-seek while our parents were out. So, Jade hid me in our parent’s closet zipped up in a dress bag (filled with extra blankets and such) and Mika hid in the bathroom closet. Two things came out of this game. Jade forgot about me in the closet and I couldn't get out of the bag and Mika peed herself and got everything in the bathroom closet wet. Why our parents thought that leaving us alone with our older sister was a good idea is beyond me, but I’d like to believe that it’s a normal thing.

              Through all the bad things we did as kids we gained so many life lessons from them. When your little it seems like life would be so much easier and better if you were an only child. All the trials and tribulations of having a sister would be nonexistent and you would be the center of your parents’ worlds (and bank accounts). As I got older and life handed me all of the hardships that I have come to face in my (almost) 20 years of life I've learned that I wouldn't have been able to make it through without my sisters. At the end of the day, all we truly have is each other and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I never understood what having a sister meant. Here's what I’ve learned: having a sister is like having a best friend, mom, confidante, and a guardian angel all in one. It is the best gift God has ever blessed me with.

              We all thought that those days of borrowing each other’s clothes or getting on each other’s nerves were over. We're adults now. We're way more mature than we were when we were 5 or so years ago. Now we just decide who is going to buy what at Chicken Row so that we don’t wear the same thing and Mika has a real excuse to boss me around… we work together. We also work with Jade but not as often as we work with each other. You can find Jade modeling our plus collection and come by the store anytime and Mika and I will be there. I’m the blonde one… oh wait, that's all of us. Okay, I’m the short one… well, that doesn't help either. Okay! I’m the one in the videos getting yelled at for forgetting my lines and Mika is the one yelling. Not surprising is it?