I’m the youngest of four children. I consider my three older sisters to be my best friends.

One thing I love about us is how we are all extremely different. Leslie is a nursing student, Tasha has a teaching degree and Heather is a mother. As for me, I can’t stand the sight of IVs, being around groups of children for at least seven hours a day sounds like a bad idea and I don’t think I want to be a mom for a really long time, if at all.

Music is one of our common interests. If it wasn’t for my sisters, I actually would not know much about music at all. They have each influenced my taste in music in different ways.

Heather, my eldest sister, always had a huge music library. I used to think she owned almost every song ever recorded. She always knew what was popular and what everyone was listening to at the time. If it was not for her, I would have never been exposed to several new artists. Or, maybe I would have been, but just not as soon. It is because of her that I keep up with what is popular now.

Tasha has always appreciated music from another time. She has gone through a Beatles stage, an 80s stage, an Elvis stage, a Frank Sinatra stage and more. She has never really liked much of what plays on the radio. Thanks to her, I am familiar with some of the musicians that were popular before my time.

As for Leslie, she has always been a country music fan, and that really hasn’t had an influence on my taste. However, Leslie has always appreciated show and orchestral music. If not for her, I would probably think Broadway and instrumental music was obnoxious. Her interest in that type of music grew on me. I would love for us to see a Broadway or even an off-Broadway show sometime since I’m not sure my other two sisters would enjoy it as much as we would.

When I was younger, I would spend my fall weekends with my parents at my sisters’ marching band shows. I didn’t really enjoy the long days spent sitting in the grand stands at foreign (or what seemed like foreign) schools watching people walk or dance around on the football field while tooting their horns and occasionally falling down.

I respect it a little more now though, because I understand that it actually has a purpose.

After seeing all three sisters rehearse and perform, I quickly gained my interest in music performance and followed in their footsteps.

Though we are all so different in numerous ways, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Column by Anna Taylor, Features Editor.