“Sam STOP.”

“No YOU stop!” 

Here I am, once again, arguing with my sister after she’s snatched my shirt. Every day, she’s decked out in MY wardrobe from head to toe. My shoes. My concealer. My socks. My jewelry.  She says that her stuff is off limits and I’m not allowed to touch it. Yet, she takes my things without asking. So, somehow, my stuff is okay to steal? 

Here’s the process:

She takes a shirt. I take note of it, but I won’t say anything. This gives me implied permission to take something of hers. You know, to balance it out. So, I’ll take a pair of her leggings. But inevitably, she’ll notice and complain to my mom. 

“Mooooom she’s wearing my leggings,” she’ll complain.

“Yeah, but you’re wearing my shirt,” I’ll say back.

“I am TIRED of the arguing. You guys figure this out yourself,” my mom will say. 

We’ve tried to come up with a truce or a deal, but it always falls through and the arguing continues. This is how it goes for most Nonnewaug High School sisters every morning.

“I’m not even going to lie, my sister steals my makeup all the time,” says NHS senior Bella Sylvester. “She’ll use it and she won’t give it back so when I try to go use it, I don’t know where it is.”

Although we can all admit that we are not completely innocent, the stealing is still 50/50. So when your sister constantly takes your stuff and claims belonging to it, the lines of who really owns the article of clothing or makeup product become blurred on both sides of the “robbery”. 

“I always have to steal stuff back,” Sylvester says. “And then she claims it’s hers.”

The snatching of personal possessions frequently occurs when you aren’t looking or when you aren’t home at all, especially when you’ve hidden an object of your sister’s interest. No matter how good the hiding spot, they seem to find it every single time; almost like a magnet. 

“Sometimes I go to look for some of my clothes and I swear I put it in a specific place,” Sylvester says, “but no, my sister had it the whole time.” 

Fortunately for sisters, there comes a time where the fighting eventually does cease.  Anna Walkup, a Nonnewaug sophomore, has reached this point now that her sister Gracie, an NHS class of ’25 graduate, is in college. 

“Gracie and I stole everything from each other, especially when we were younger,” says Walkup. “Now that we are older, we don’t really get mad at each other as much for that.”

The problem, though, is that when one sister moves away from home, your ability to take their belongings for yourself comes to a halt. 

“Before Gracie left for school,” Walkup says, “We literally sat down and separated all our clothes.”

Although the separation of clothing presents some cons, like a more limited selection of outfits, there’s also a much lower chance of losing some of your stuff to a sister. 

“For me, I was especially sad to see some things go with her because I was really the one that stole her clothes more than she stole mine,” says Walkup. “But she was definitely relieved not to have to worry about me taking her things.”

Whenever the pair wants a refresh on their wardrobe, they have the opportunity to do so around holidays and breaks. 

“When she comes back for holiday breaks,” Walkup says, “we sometimes trade stuff if there are things we both want or need.”

However, this relationship with each other’s belongings wasn’t always this peaceful or civilized. 

“I distinctly remember getting into huge fights over stealing each other’s stuff,” Walkup says. “Especially clothes, which was the biggest thing.”

Sometimes, I don’t mind the back and forth. When you have access to not only your wardrobe but hers as well, it’s like having double the clothes. And on the rare occasion where she doesn’t notice, it’s exciting to get away with the crime of taking your sister’s belongings. 

“It’s fun,” Sylvester says. “I like the little rivalry.”

Someday the arguments between you two over a pair of shoes will stop and someday you’ll have limited access to each other’s closets. You and me both know you’ll miss her clothes when they’re gone.

So why not? Steal a little while you’ve got the chance. Just be sure to put it back exactly where you found it when you’re done.