I'm not the first to say I'm surprised my brothers and I talk now. We all went through a long period of time where we avoided each other in the house and only spoke to one another if in an argument. They used to not set a place for me at the table for dinner. Maybe it would be funny the first couple of times, but this went on for three years. I in return would ignore them only to speak up for myself or to counter their argument. It wasn't a great relationship and I secretly envied my friends who were close to their siblings.

One of my brother's names is Michael and he is 15 years old. He's a happy go lucky kid and manages to smile through everything. The older of the two is Nicholas and he's a leader. He just turned 18 and is anxious about college. He recently quit baseball (which he had played since he was five) because of some bad attitudes on the team along with a shoulder injury and got a job since he had more spare time.

I'm not sure why, but during my high school years we hated each other. We always had a mean comeback and it never seemed like the arguing would stop. When I was leaving California to go to college in New Jersey, they didn't say goodbye. And, even though I didn't expect them too, it bothered me. I tried writing them a letter but didn't get a reply. And, after school started I never heard from them either and we didn't talk at all when I came home for winter break.

However, when I came back for summer break after the first year of college things seemed different. They didn't leave the room when I entered. We sat on the same couch and watched a movie together which had never happened before. Later in the summer we got even closer and would talk about stuff going on in our lives. We grew up in the same household so we talked about how we were raised and stuff we had all gone through. We started playing video games, shooting hoops, going to the field, and going for drives while blaring music.

The only time we argued was over what to have for dinner where they actually set a place for me. I was shocked. I didn't know what had happened. Our relationship had completely flipped in the matter of a year. And, I think I owe that to space between us. We all needed room to realize that we appreciated each other.

When I first left for college it was easy because I wasn't leaving anyone behind. But now it's hard because when I leave I miss my brothers.