If you have siblings it is going to be easy to relate to this article. If you don't have siblings think about little kids you may be around or little kids who see you every day.
Children are basically human sponges. They watch our every movement and try to reenact them. They listen to everything we have to say and repeat it, maybe when they shouldn't. They are cute and messy but most of all they are looking up to those around them.
As for me, I have an 11-year-old little brother and an 8-year-old little sister. I'm also surrounded by my little cousins.
They are great but they are watching me. Being 9 years older than my little brother, and being around him the most, I try and set as the best example as I can. I know he's watching me and I never want to let him down. I have striven hard all throughout school for my parents, but with him, I try to show him that it is important. It is important for me to show him that school isn't terrible and it is important.
My little sister (even though she isn't around me a lot) is someone I still try to be a role model for. She is my step-sister, but I show her that she is important to me and I love her as much as I do my little brother. I ask her how school, soccer, and softball are. We talk about what she learns and then we talk about how her games went that week.
My little brother, well, let's just say he's a handful. I love him so much seeing he's been in this world for almost 12 years now. When I found out I was going to be a big sister I was not the happiest of campers because my "only childhoodness" was going out the window, but when he got here all those thoughts went out the window. When you are so much older than your sibling the way I am you look after them more and care for them more.
This is why I strive to be the best I can be, not only in school but in life in general. I want him to know that I work hard for what comes to me and that things in life are not handed to you.
When I first went to college he got very emotional because I was not around as much as I had been. Now that I live at home and go to college I can show him just how hard I work.
One of my favorite things is at the end of the day to come home and ask him how school went. When I graduated high school I got a hood because I was in the top five percent in my class. That day he grabbed it and said he wanted on of those one day, so when he comes home from school complaining I just tell him not to. I try to help him and sit down and try to make school more enjoyable all around for him.
I love my little brother and sister. To me they are a daily reminder that I do not bust my tail for just myself but that I have someone watching me and wanting to be just like me. I set the goals for them to reach and if they can't I show them that it's okay because they are just as good as me if not better. So the next time you feel like giving up or quitting check and make sure there isn't a human sponge watching you and wanting to be just like you.
