When we were young, I always followed him around. I wanted to be just like him. Even though we argued and fought all the time, I looked up to him. I would think of every excuse possible to go downstairs to be with him and his friends. Back then he never wanted me around, but as we grew up things changed.
As we got older, I continued to look up to him. He was always good at sports, made me laugh, and was fun to be around. He talked like he was never serious, but as we got closer, I knew he could be. When I would have a problem, he would stop whatever he was doing to come talk to me. We could stay up until 3 o’clock in the morning having serious talks about everything. When it came to my parents yelling at me or me getting in trouble, he would stick up for me. I can remember an exact time when my parents caught me taking out the car before I was legal. As I was receiving my punishment, my brother came into the room and said "Mom, I made her go get me a pop. She didn’t want to go, but I made her." My parents ended up not punishing me, but him instead. I asked him why he did it, and I remember him saying he didn’t want me to lose my parents trust before I was even in high school.
Another way my brother influenced my life was in the things he didn’t do. My brother didn’t always have his morals set, and my parents were constantly upset with him. He never really went to church and never worked hard at school or housework. The first job he got was when he was nearly eighteen years old. When he would learn from his mistakes, so would I. I always knew he should have done those things, so when I was his age, I made sure I did. I would go to church, and help out my mom because I knew those were his faults.
One thing I can thank my brother for is my athletic ability. He was always beating up on me and making me a stronger person. He made me tougher by not allowing me to cry, and he made me realize that sometimes I need to know when to back down. He would also ask me to play basketball, baseball, hockey, or any other sport outside with him. It made me better and more competitive.
Now that he is a senior, he will be leaving for college next year. I don’t want him to leave because I will miss him always being there. Even though we still don’t always get along or agree with each other, we look forward to each other’s thoughts and comments. Growing up my brother was a big influence to me, and hopefully we will continue to get closer as we get older.