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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

I am the youngest of four girls. This is a statement I say frequently, and one I say with pride. I prepare myself for the follow up comments: “No boys? Your poor dad!” Which, by the way, is rude. My dad has never made us feel like he was disappointed that he didn’t have a son. At my sister’s wedding he opened his speech beaming saying, “I am a girl dad.” So, he doesn’t need your sympathy. He’s fine with his four healthy and happy children (queue that “don’t worry about Stanley” sound from Tik Tok). 

I have never wanted a brother. I never felt like anything was missing. “Little Women” (2019) is my favorite movie because parts of it feel like I am watching my own childhood and my own sisterhood. My sisters and I once each took a test on what “Little Women” sister we were and got each of the four sisters. Ever since then, when I watch the movie, I can picture my sisters and I on the screen in front of me. There are a lot of emotional parts of “Little Women,” but the scene that makes me cry without fail every time is the ending glimpse of the sisters as little kids having a tea party. My sisters and I may be grown and no longer under the same roof, but before all of the life that we experienced, we were just girls together. 

My oldest sister, Katie, went to college in 2011. Since then, it’s been a cycle of who’s home when. The COVID lockdown in 2020 was the last time that my sisters and I all lived together, and it was only for a few months. Now Katie, Olivia and I live across the country from Jesse. While we might not always physically be the closest, each of us is always only a phone call or a text away. Our sister group chat on IMessage and Instagram DMs is used daily to send funny content and keep in touch. I know that any time I need anything—whether it be advice, a laugh or a cry–they’re there to listen. 

As kids, my sisters and I played school and made our American Girl Dolls run around the living room. We would giggle in our rooms down the hall chatting on our Nintendo DS and yell at each other when it was our turn for the Wii remote. As we got older, they taught me how to shave my legs and do my makeup. We graduated from playing dolls to going out to dinner or grabbing coffee together. They gave me my first drinks (sorry mom and dad). They taught me how to live my life. I would not be the person that I am today without them.

Katie

Katie, thank you for your therapeutic advice and listening. Thank you for trying to always protect me from painful experiences, even if sometimes I ignore what you say and end up choosing the self-destructive route anyways. You’re right a lot more of the time than you get credit for. 

Olivia

Olivia, thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for always letting me follow you around and bother you. Thank you for always including me in your plans, even if that means lying on the couch and watching TikToks. I never get sick of you. 

Jesse

Jesse, thank you for showing me what it means like to be unapologetically yourself. You have always been the life of the party, adding fun into any situation. You remind me to not take everything so seriously and that sometimes it’s okay to just let go and laugh. Also, thank you for sharing your room with me until you were 18. I can’t imagine it was fun being 16 sharing a room with an 11-year-old, but you rarely made me feel bad about it. 

Bonus: Steve

So, after spending this article talking about how I never wanted a brother, I should probably now mention that as of August, I do have a brother-in-law. Steve, if I’m going to have a brother after 21 years without one, I’m glad that you’re the one who has filled that role. I can’t imagine it’s easy being the first guy to marry into our family, but you have taken the challenge on with grace. Thank you for giving Katie the love she deserves and thank you for giving my other sisters and I the experience of a brother for the first time.

During this difficult time, it is important to recognize the women in our life and uplift them. I am the youngest of four girls. That is a fact about me that will never change, no matter where life takes me. I am who I am because of this fact. I am nothing without my sisters. I love you, sisters! 

Natalie, or Nat as most know her, is a new member of Her Campus at SBU! This is her first year in the chapter, and she looks forward to using Her Campus as a way to express herself and rediscover her former love for writing. In May 2024, Natalie graduated with her bachelor's in history with minors in political science and Spanish from St. Bonaventure after three years. She is continuing her education and receiving her master's in adolescence education during what would be her senior year. As an undergrad, she was President of College Democrats, involved in University Ministries and held two jobs on campus. She is currently working as a graduate assistant with the student success center, teaching a FRES 100 class to 14 freshmen and meeting with them each week to help ensure their success in college. Outside of her professional career, Natalie enjoys anything that involves breakfast and coffee. She can talk anyone's ear off for hours on end, and frequently does so with her best friends. Her passions include anything to do with the city of Buffalo (go Bills), politics, her study abroad experience in Oxford, England and her early 2000s camcorder.