Seriously mom and dad? You had the audacity to bring the biggest pain in my neck to the world without even giving me a say in it? I mean, seriously.
OK. Maybe when we were like 10, he was the biggest pain in my neck… but the times have changed and here we are 11 years later. Going to the same college, having the same friends and still rescuing each other from sticky situations.
When you give a girl a little brother, you’re giving her a lifelong partner in crime. Someone who can rescue her when she’s in more trouble than she should be, someone who will take down the asshole who broke her heart and someone who will drive six hours across the state to go to college with. Having a younger brother can be one of the most annoying things in the world, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
For a long time, you get to be his mom. The one who bosses him around and tells him what to do on a day to day basis without any repercussions. The one he goes to when he needs advice on girls or help in school. The one he asks for money from while you’re over at college, instead of heckling your mom and dad who pay for everything else. For so many years the two of you will fight, you will bond and you will take care of each other when push comes to shove.
Your little brother will always be your little brother. But one day, your little brother won’t seem so little anymore. He will grow up to be bigger than you. He will grow up to be better at some things than you. And he will grow up and teach lessons to you.
He’ll teach you lessons like not to care what people think about you and that it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it makes you happy. He will shock you when he takes up a new sport at a D1 school that you never thought was possible. He will show you that standing up on the first day of class in front of 200+ students to introduce himself is easy. He will tell you when you’re being a drunk idiot. But most importantly, he will show you that even though he is your little brother, he is growing up to be one of the most genuine and kind men you will ever meet.
Little brothers are one of the most contradictory people you will ever have in your life. You want nothing more than to see them fail and succeed at the same time. A little piece of you wants to laugh at him when he messes up but make sure he gets back up and finishes what he started at the same time. You love him and hate him and there is not a single person you would rather torment during the years growing up together.
When you give a girl a little brother, you are giving her a standard to hold men to. You are giving her a reason to be a strong person. You are giving her a reason to become a mentor and a teacher. But most importantly, you are giving her, her very first best friend.
