Sophomore Reflects on Tomboy Tendencies Learned from Brothers

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Posted October 5, 2010

Sprinting towards base, an arm reached out and tagged me.

“You’re it,” taunted the little boy I was playing tag with. “What’s your name again?”
“Caroline.”
A change of expression filled his face.
“You’re a girl?”
*                 *                 *

Growing up I was possibly the cutest kid ever.
I had a short little wedge haircut, and my bleach blond hair was normally tinted green from too much chlorine. I wore hand-me-down cargo shorts, and orange T-shirts. I loved to burp and I wasn’t afraid to own up to my flatulence. Although my grandma would buy me pink dresses, I would always end up in my brothers’ old basketball shorts.

All these quirky characteristics reflected my brothers. I just wanted to be like them. They were the athletic ones. They were the cool ones. They were my role models.
CC is 22 months older than me, but acts only four months older than me. One minute I would be yelling at him for flicking my ear, and the next I would be laughing at him for making stupid knock-knock jokes. It’s a love-annoy relationship.

Back when I was little and couldn’t fight on my own, CC and I would team up and attack our eldest brother Matthew. CC and I would tackle Matthew to the floor and attempt to pin him down, which rarely, if ever, happened. CC and I would get hyper together and tickle my mom to tears. CC and I would play soccer in our bare feet until our feet were so red, they ached. CC and I were a force to be reckoned with.
I wasn’t always with CC though, sometimes I would want my alone time and Matthew was the one that understood that. We would sneak into my parents bedroom and watch Sports Center’s top 10 together, but not say one word. We would listen to Mute Math albums, or read the new Harry Potter books. He was my mellow side, my introverted pal.
When we weren’t listening to music or reading together, we were laughing. Whether it was because America’s Home Funniest Videos was hilarious or my mom and I were tickling him, his laugh was unforgettable. When he laughed, I laughed.

Soccer was a religion to my brothers. I attended more of my brothers’ rec soccer games than my ballet classes. Following in my brothers footsteps, I dropped ballet and took up rec soccer. Rec soccer just wasn’t enough for my brothers though, so they started premiere soccer. Which means I started premiere soccer.

I like to say I’m a mix of my two role models. One side of me is social and talkative and outgoing, and the other is all for my alone time. Matthew is right handed, right footed. CC is left handed, left footed. I’m right handed, left footed.

To this day, you can still find me searching through bags of my brothers’ old clothes. Every once in a while we will still have a wrestling match or a tickling war. I don’t know what my life would be like without their influences on me, maybe a makeup wearing, cheer-leading, girly-girl.

If I were to walk down in a high heels and a face full of makeup I would be embarrassed. It’s not who I am because that’s not what I grew up seeing. I grew up seeing basketballs, not Barbies, smelling Axe, not perfume, and feeling comfortable in that setting. The setting of brothers, being the only girl.

All I know is since they are in my life, I’m a tennis-shoe-wearing, soccer-playing, tomboy.  I’m the little sister of two annoying older brothers  who may lock me in a closet for hours and give me noogies until I cry.

But I wouldn’t change a thing.

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