My sister is my best friend. I always think of her when I’m bored or if I need to borrow her mascara. She’s the person I go to when I want to make someone mad. Like how I constantly came into her room and asked her the same question: “When are you cooking?” knowing she was going to cook soon. But honestly, I really do appreciate our relationship.

We’re, of course, very comfortable, since we’re siblings, nothing’s fake. But being with friends, you can’t be as truthful with them as with your sibling. Hanging out with my sister is just so much better. We can be who we truly are together and fight things off, knowing nothing’s going to happen to our relationship.

Being with my friend, I’m not going to be as comfortable with them. I’ll maybe have to put effort into being friendly and nice, or have to just bring up something random to talk about, like shared interests, just to not have a dry conversation. Clearly, who wants to do that? Not me, so that’s why I don’t hang out with my friends after school. If I wanted to do something to actually have fun, I’d stick with my sister instead.

I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for my sister. My style, the way I see people, the way I act—everything about me is a reflection of my sibling. Our relationship really just builds us. We may be fighting one minute, but once we hear something stupid, we will start laughing. Our connection really isn’t something we can get from a friend.

When it comes to trust, I wouldn’t trust my friends at all. As my sister Ruby Raad said, “Friends come and go,” so sharing a secret with them is a risk, knowing it might be shared. I’ve had many friends that I’ve cut ties with, and I told them some secrets, and guess what happened? People started knowing my secrets. And knowing if I told my siblings something, I could trust them because we know everything about each other, so basically, we always have something against each other.

Maybe people don’t realize their sibling is their best friend. When it comes to telling an embarrassing story, I would gladly choose my sister to tell. If I had to choose who would come with me to a new restaurant in town? I would choose my sister. And if I wanted to ask for honest advice, the first person in mind is still going to be my sister. People need to realize that their closest friends really aren’t their closest friends.