"A Built-in Best Friend"

The classic saying of “you can’t always choose your family” is a great way to explain how students feel about their siblings. It doesn’t matter if it’s a brother or sister, or if they’re younger or older, the relationship between siblings is always an uphill battle. An uphill battle doesn’t mean that the relationship has to be hard, but they’re always constant positive and negative obstacles to get through.

Cassie Blakeslee, a junior Marketing major, has the best of both worlds. She has three siblings at home with a wide age gap, making her the oldest child. Her sister Natasha is 19 years old and  her brother Joseph and sister Katrina are both under the age of two. When it comes to her sister Natasha, the relationship between them hasn’t always been smooth. “I got along with Tasha much better after I graduated high school. We were forced to hang out as kids, but we choose to hang out now more than ever,” said Blakeslee.

Her younger siblings on the other hand, “I love to spend time with Joey and Kat. Age doesn’t make a different with them since the age gap is so large.” Being the oldest comes with the need to be responsible and willing to give advice. Since Blakeslee’s two younger siblings are so young, she feels the need to set a good example. “I definitely feel like I have a responsibility with the younger ones. I am always the first one my parents call for a babysitter, and I feel like it’s my job to take care of them as well as my parents do. I don’t feel a responsibility to take care of Tasha but I do feel it is necessary to be there for her whenever she needs me,” said Blakeslee. She said she’s always open to giving Tasha advice when she needs it.  The advice she tells her most is to be safe because she has already been that age.

Kelsey Paddol is a junior here at PSU. She’s the youngest out of two. She has an older sister Jenna.  What makes their relationship different is that Paddol is ten years younger than her sister. “I definitely get along with her better now. Because there is such an age difference between us, I always wanted to do what she was doing when we were younger, which got pretty annoying for her. Now that we’re older, we’re starting to have more in common and can relate to each other,” said Paddol. Her sister is one of the most influential people in her life, and she’s lucky she has someone to look up to.

Imagine being an only child up until the age of fifteen? Dom Buccieri can easily relate to that. Her brother, Dylan, just turned six and she only has positive things to say about him. “Little brothers can be annoying but it doesn’t even bother me anymore when he is. I know he looks up to me but what he doesn’t know is how much I appreciate him,” said Buccieri. Having a sibling is one of the best things in life. Being able to have someone to look up to or set an example for is a great feeling either way.