memories of a little sister

I have four brothers. Four. Three are older than me and one is younger. I grew up in a house with these rowdy boys. Just imagine what kind of a girl I'd turn up to be.

I have a lot of fond memories with them. My favorite is when I was a little girl (I'd say around six or seven) and my two elder brothers decided to play and they made their paper airplanes. I was busy brushing my barbie's hair at the time but all three of us were in our garage. Suddenly, one of them shouted, "kunwari nag ka-crash ang airplane!!!" So guess what their brilliant minds thought of? To make it more real, they decided to go get a match and lit the tail of their paper planes on fire and let the damn thing fly. Hahaha! It would have been funny to watch, only that the direction of those crashing airplanes went straight to my hair! I remember jumping up and down and screaming my head off while the two of them were just laughing hard at me. Of course I wasn't harmed and I ducked just in time. But just imagine how frightening it was for a six-year old in her pigtails. Looking back, I couldn't help but smile. Don't you just love those two devilish kids?!

Being the only girl in the family (okay, apart from my mom I mean) is a real treat! I mean, seriously, I was every body's princess. I couldn't remember a time when I'd shout "kuya, kuha mo ako ng tubeeeeg!!!" that they'd resist. I almost, almost, always, always get what I want. I'd always look for my brothers whenever I need something, I mean even the simple act of reaching out for things that I need, I'd ask them "Kuya, paabot nyan." (Even if I could've reached it if I even stretched a little more)

However, they aren't always that nice, of course. They have a tendency to tease me to death and even put up practical jokes at me. They love to gross me out with their manly mannerisms and table manners. And I am so used to being called "panget" as well. We've had our fights over petty things like who gets the last piece of the cake and who gets to seat in front of the car when papa's driving (I always win, of course).

So you see, I am so used to having guys around me. I can talk to any guy straight in the face and I can just comfortably bicker with guys, as I've learned from my brothers.

In college, my set of friends consisted of three girls and six guys (Kuya Froi, Rainard, Tristan, Big Paul, Nickson and Brian). When I started working, somehow I always seem to get close to a guy or guys. I remember being super close with Tantan that some started thinking we could be more than friends. But hello, I had a boyfriend at the time and I was just setting him up with Beth (see they are still together now.. hehe) Then there goes my relationship with the entire GTI team. Aaron, Andro, Ian, Sandy, Rene, Allan... And fairly recently, my transfer to RFS-IT that has a headcount of around 30, with just seven girls!

The reason I'm telling all these? I just want to say that just because a girl is comfortable in the company of guys and would sometimes prefer their company over girls doesn't mean that she is trying to get their attention romantically. I mean, come on, I'm not always in the market for a boyfriend. Okay, so what that I am single? It doesn't mean that I'm looking at every guy I come across to as a potential boyfriend. I just love their company, their being rowdy and their honest-to-goodness opinion on certain things. To be honest, I treat every guy I meet as I would my own brothers. Everyone is a kuya in my eyes.

I guess what I really want to stress out is that platonic friendship does exist. I can be friends with the opposite sex without any romantic notions. So you with the dirty mind, stop teasing me with the next guy you see that I'm talking to or bickering with.

It's just so normal for me.

Remember, I have four brothers.