You know when you were younger and your siblings would torment you? When they would shoot an airsoft gun at your feet and scream, ¨Dance!¨ Or when you admitted to them that you had a crippling fear of wolves and they went out of their way to sneak up on you in the middle of the night while you were alone to howl like a wolf?

  No? Just me?

My childhood was chaotic and hectic, yet interesting, and shaped me to be the person I am today. I have never been a moment without my siblings. From first being born and having an older brother; to 9 months earlier where I was conceived and immediately had a womb-mate.

My childhood was like an Olympic race. We always tried to outdo each other from our competitive behavior, whether that be through academics, art, games, or sports.

My mom always read a book to us before we went to bed that we thought resembled our household accurately. The children's book, No David! by David Shannon. This book is about a young boy who constantly is getting in trouble and being a menace.

When I was about eight years old we played a game called “Mattress Stack” where the objective of the game is to take mattresses from everyone's bed, make a large pile-up taller than the empire state building and climb to the top and balance. My siblings, in an attempt to aggravate me, segregated me from the mattress pile-up room by sticking a mattress against the door so I couldn't participate in the activities. In retaliation, I took my mom’s sewing needle and faced my brother and sister, looking back on the memory I can just about hear my mom reading the line to me, “No David, no!”  and at that moment I threw it at them… Because I was such a good shot and definitely the most athletic in the house, the needle ended up just below my brother’s eye. This definitely added some friction between my relationship with my siblings and just about doubled the chaos in the van der Voet household.

My childhood wasn't all bad though- We had equally as many positive memories. My favorite wholesome memory from my childhood was when my brother, sister and I all played ¨Pirates.” We set up my room in an elaborate way that resembled a pirates ship. We did this by setting up all the mattresses across multiple bed frames, upon reflection, mattresses seem to be a recurring theme in my childhood. We had epic battles where other pirates attacked our ship and on occasion one of us would lose a leg. Realistically, we fought each other in an innocent manner and had a fun time. Similarly to the end of the No David! book, David ends up salvaging his relationship with his family by being empathetic and kind to his family and not necessarily being as crazy and hectic. Once our expedition ended we peacefully refueled by eating bread, cheese, and grapes for dinner. This has become a tradition in our household where on occasion we will eat this meal for dinner, and now has its infamous name of ¨pirates food.¨

My childhood has taught me a lot and has shaped me to the person I am today. The competitiveness of my childhood has made me eager to try my best in my teenage years. The pranks or practical jokes we pulled on each other has given me a thicker skin later in life. It has also taught me to appreciate my siblings and family, despite our feuds and differences we always make up in the end, our bond stronger than before. We may not always be as close as we once were but our interesting and bold experiences through childhood will always hold a place in our hearts. Lastly, past Ben, and David, just behave and get along.