And often, the term “friend” connotes a lack of family ties, as friends and family are usually placed in two different relationship categories.

Teenagers normally put aside time for family and time for friends and attempt to balance both. During high school, I, as many other teenagers do, focused mostly on the time I spent with my friends, and any excess time when I had no plans, I would categorize as family time.

Sometimes, it takes going to college and being away from the people who matter most to realize how much they mean to you.

With that being said, there is only one person on this earth whom I would consider to be my closest friend: my older sister, Stephanie. She is, without a doubt, the person I share the most memories with — good, bad and everything in between — and I value the time I spend with her more than anyone else.

Of course, we grew up with the same sibling rivalries that every family faces, and even though I am much bigger than her now, she would always beat me to a pulp — and she probably still could.

I distinctly remember sitting in the back of my mother’s minivan and she would either hit me “just because,” or she would make it sound like I was hitting her so that my parents would punish me.

Whenever we would desire our parents to buy us something or take us on a nice vacation, she would always tell me to let her handle it.

“I’m the favorite child, so I’ll ask.”

These sorts of tiny shenanigans made growing up as the younger sibling somewhat difficult.
As we got older, we began to develop similar interests and grow closer to each other.

She was my guardian when I first stepped into high school, watching my every move and making sure I did not get into trouble. It helped that we shared a locker so we could see each other in between classes.

Although I was a freshman and she was a senior, she welcomed me of her own volition into her group of friends. It was during that year that we became more than just brother and sister with a troubling past of bitter sibling rivalry and disagreements — we became close friends.

She continues to make things difficult, but now it is in more of a comedic fashion. Now that I’ve grown older, she often taunts any girl I bring home to meet the family, and to this day my ex-girlfriend is afraid to step into our house because of Stephanie.

But now, more than ever, our close friendship is obvious to any passer-by. We are easily the loudest pair in any group of people, with the most raucous, yet contagious, laughs that an ear can handle.

When my sister’s friends meet me, they always tell me, “You’re just like her,” and although I used to discount the remark, I cherish its meaning now, as my sister has become a role model for not only myself, but many others whom she has met during her college career.

It is of the utmost importance to reflect on the experiences one has with his or her family in deciding who the most meaningful people in his or her life are. I never understood this until I went to college. I had such an itch to get out of my hometown and get to school, as many graduating seniors do, that I often took out my own angst on my family, whose only goal was to protect my well-being.

I am upset that I used to scold the people who care about me most, but I am also glad that I have had this pseudo-epiphany. Now, as my family grows further apart due to a lack of proximity, as I live permanently in East Lansing and my sister is currently living in Texas, we have grown closer to one another emotionally.

Family really is the most important thing in life, and it took me being away from mine to realize it. It would be nearly impossible to find others on this earth who care about you as much as those who helped raise you and have seen you at your best and worst times.

Sure, every family has their own issues — coming from an Italian family who argues as much as we laugh, I am used to seeing problems formed and solved almost daily. It is working through these issues that helps to make a family closer in most cases.

So why can’t your sibling be your best friend? I’ll meet plenty of people throughout my life and develop close relationships with many, but none will be as close as the friendship I share with a family member, my sister Stephanie.

Alex McClung is the opinion writer at The State News and an international relations and journalism sophomore. Reach him at mcclung3@msu.edu.