Me, Myself and My Brothers

I love the fact that I grew up with two older brothers. Of course I would’ve loved to have a sister, but growing up with brothers is the greatest. Even girl friends with the same situation agree. My oldest brother is Paul, and second oldest is Michael. Paul and I are seven years apart and with Michael I am only two years apart. As children, I was closer to Michael since our age difference was not that big. However, as we entered puberty, we only disagreed on everything, making me closer to Paul. Now a days, as adults, I get along with both of them and they are part of a major support system in my life.

The question still is, why do I love so much the fact that I grew up with brothers? LOL, it’s quite simple actually. Growing up with boys as a girl practically turns you into another boy. My bothers wouldn’t let me play with them unless I could handle how boys “play.” In other words, no whining, no crying, and no weakness. Since they shared the boyhood bond, they always played together, which made me want to be part of it, part of “the clan.” So, I did what any other younger sister of boys would do: I played the game. I became a total tomboy. I climbed the trees, raced the bikes downhill, scratched the knees, climbed the walls, explore the abandoned houses, played baseball with slides and all, took the punches from our little fight training and of course rode the quads. I did everything a normal boy would do and the complete opposite a normal girl would do. I was an expert in Legos, and my Barbies where only for display. I took every test that I had to pass to be accepted as one of the “boys,” and gladly because I wanted that acceptance from my big brothers. Best part of it all, they accepted me, I was another boy to them. I was their brother and they believed in me when it came to the “boy’s block” play. I remember in one of the fight training “sessions” my older bother created for us to build character and strength, he told Michael, “Dude, you can’t cry if Raquel is not crying,” and right then and there I knew I was part of their click, and my brother was using me as an example. I was proud.

Yes, I still have not responded my question, so why do I love the fact that I grew up as a tomboy? Simple. I know the other side. I did grow character from everything I learned from my big bothers. I am not weak, nor stupid. Climbing fences, trees or walls doesn’t scare me. I played every sport there is. Yes, even football, like a boy. I got to see how boys think and by teenage, no boy could fool me. I wasn’t a fighter, but I was not scared to defend myself either. Best of all, I created a priceless bond with my two older brothers that not only consisted of love but also trust. I know that more than brothers, I have best friends, best friends that taught me things in life that I will keep forever. Their influence created a stronger smarter version of what I could’ve been. Today, I am a very confident, smart and feminine tomboy, and for that, I have to thank my brothers. ☺