I don’t have a sister and I never wanted one. Growing up with three brothers, being the only girl meant being the centre of attention at all times. I had the luxury of being both a mummy’s girl and a daddy’s girl. I never thought I needed a sister. As I grow older, I realise the reason I didn’t need one is that I was lucky enough to make strong female friendships from a young age. My best friend from play school is someone I love more and more with every year.

As she grows older and I see different facets of her personality–new dimensions and depths that come from experiences and life stages–her stock just rises. When I moved to London at 18, I met other women who became my chosen family–the sisters I never had as a child. I met women through university and later, at first jobs. We have shared tearful nights over pizza, crying over the wrong men; danced in basement bars with sticky floors; gone on holidays at the wrong season because it was cheap.