If you're anything like me then for about as long as you can remember you've had a sidekick for everything; family parties, get-togethers, family dinners, school years. Someone who has stuck with you through everything and anything, someone who you didn't really have a choice of getting to know or not. For me, that person is my little brother. Though stereotypically younger brothers are supposed to be the annoying little life-ruiners who tear through your room and antagonize you and your friends until no end, my little brother wasn't a terror. My younger brother was the cool one. He had (and still does have) everyone wrapped around his finger. My friends would tell me how cute he is and how fun he is to be around. Sometimes I would get the feeling that they hung around the house just for him. Agreeably, yeah, he had his moments of destruction but what about the things I never thought to thank him for?

I would first off like to thank my little brother for never ceasing to make me laugh especially at family dinners with every inside joke.

You make every awkward moment better.

Thank you for protecting me from the guys that you knew from the get go were not the one for me.

Thank you for singing along to Salt-N-Pepa in the Jeep on the rainy summer days.

Thank you for the endless impressions of Family Guy characters that are spot on.

Thank you for making me snort beer out of my nose at my graduation party (Sorry Mom & Dad).

Thank you for keeping my bed warm while I'm at college.

Thank you for taking similar interest in my music choices. It makes car rides much easier.

Thank you for joining me with a fake smile in every forced family photo.

And a sarcastic thank you goes out to making me laugh while standing quietly next to me in church.

Thank you for hanging out with me on my birthday when my friends couldn't.

Thank you for taking late-night ice cream runs to Stillwells with me to get Dad his signature chocolate chip ice cream with light chocolate sprinkles.

Thank you for yelling at me before I slammed into the back of a truck.

Thank you for telling me when I've crossed the line from being me and being a crazy person.

Thanks for making fun of me when I backed over and ruined the light post in the front yard.

Thank you for not growing up so quickly.

Thank you for, even at 16 years old, waking me up at 5 a.m. on Christmas morning to go downstairs.

Thank you for amazing me everyday with your work ethic and turning into a mini-man.

Thank you for being a a safe driver so that I don't have to worry about you.

Thank you for being my movie theater buddy even on a Friday night.

Thank you for making me laugh with your "social anxiety."

Even though you're the younger one, thank you for making me look cooler in high school.

Thank you for making good decisions even in your early teenage years.

And lastly, thank you for even on your worst days, to me you are still the same little brother you have always been. Thank you for always being yourself around all sorts of people. I love you so so SO much.

And even though everyone thinks of me as your older sister, to me, you will always be my little brother.