Three Biggest Fears Big Sisters Face

by Kalie Souknary
Blog Content Contributor

As a big sister to two girls, I’ve experienced true fear for my sisters. I know what I’ve gone through and what other girls my age have gone through, so to think about my sisters going through the same things absolutely scares me and makes me want to shield them from ever going through bad times.

1.) Heartbreak.

This is by far the biggest one. My fear as a sister is that my sisters will experience the same hurt that I’ve experienced. The sort of hurt that makes you feel like your heart is literally breaking. The occasional rejection, feeling like you’re not enough for someone. I know how hard it is to go through something like that and knowing that it’s essential to individual growth is the worst part, because everyone has to go through it and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I can’t force boys to like my sisters. I can’t stop my sisters from going after bad boys. I can’t heal them after a heartbreak– only time can. I know that if I shielded them from heartbreak, it would only hurt them in the long run. But I don’t know if anything hurts more than knowing that my sisters will hurt and there won’t be anything I can do to stop it.

2.) Watching them fail.

This may sound harsh, but sisters will understand what I mean. As you grow up, you fail. You get your dreams crushed and you find out what makes you stronger and what tears you down. I’ve watched my sisters grow up, I’ve watched them accomplish things they’ve really wanted. My younger sister, only nine years old, was upset because her gymnastics competition didn’t go as well as she wanted and it honestly upset me because I know how hard she works and to see her so upset about something like this at her age makes me worry about what goes through her mind when she fails. Every older sister knows what it’s like to criticize yourself. If my sisters are telling themselves the same things I’ve told myself when I’ve failed, that scares me. Because they deserve to be happy and they are worth more than what they may be telling themselves.

3.) Physical pain.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled at my sister in the car for texting and driving, or going too fast because she’s angry. I never want to wake up to find out that my sisters got in a car crash. I don’t want to have to drive home, hysterically crying because my sisters were flown to the hospital because a drunk driver hit them. Anytime my sisters are in pain, I’m going to want to take their place.

As an older sister, we’re raised to guard our younger siblings with everything we have. Naturally, we eventually start to become a little overprotective and although they hate it, we’ll never be able to help it. We’re always going to try to stop the pain, prevent the hard times, and yell at them for making bad decisions. It’s our job.