Dear little brother,

In a couple of days, it is going to be your sixteenth birthday and I can’t fathom the fact that you are getting older so quickly.

I still remember the day you were born and how much I truly did not want you to enter into my world because it was all about me for five years. Soon, I started to get used to you and would find it appealing how you would laugh at everything I did. You became my number one fan and I knew that you would follow me to every corner of the house if I would walk away from you for a couple of seconds. There weren’t many members of our family that would follow anything I had to say because I was a child, but you listened to every word I said and would follow my actions (even if they were bad ideas).

I will never forget how many times I would force you to babysit my dolls, while I was the “working mother”. I would yell at you if the dolls weren’t in their proper place and you would quickly fix them. I remember sitting in the basement and teaching you the alphabet, but most of all I remember the gleam in your eye when you actually learned it. I saw how happy you were with life, even when I would try and push you away with every chance I got. I started loving everything about my little super fan: the way he would laugh so hard and get hiccups for a half hour after that, the aggressive moments where he would put me in a headlock and I had to handle the pain, or when you would follow me everywhere and look at me for the next instruction.

Now, you are sixteen and some of those aspects haven’t changed at all. Besides the fact, that you sky rocket over me now and toss me around like I am some kind of toy; you are still the biggest softie. I will still never be comfortable with any girl coming near you because I know what a pure heart you have. I know that you will spoil her and treat her like a complete princess (with harsh jokes that she will have to deal with), but honestly I don’t think that any girl will ever be good enough for you- so let’s try to avoid girlfriends for the next 10 years. You care so much about family time and would give anything to have us all together, even if it is just watching the same Christmas movie for almost ten years now (still hate you for that). I can’t thank you enough for being that person who puts family above most things in your life.

We are the complete polar opposites and everyone that encounters the both of us together can tell right away. There is RARELY a moment where you are not talking while I barely talk, you have no problem talking to strangers that you have never met before while I second guess even approaching them, you are extremely opinionated on most topics while I have room for compromise, and you barely find any insecurities about yourself while I can name a couple about myself (and you, but we won’t go there). I wouldn’t ask to change any of these aspects about your personality because they make you who you are.

Since we are very different, we tend to fight like cats and dogs, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I know that when push comes to shove, you will have my back 100% on the choices I want to make, and I think I’ve shown you that I’d do the same for you. We have a very unique bond that doesn’t allow us to show how we truly feel about each other, unless it’s an important holiday or we are going through a rough time.

So, thank you for telling me the truth when many people would not hurt my feelings. Thank you for teaching me how to let loose in situations that I don’t feel comfortable in (or in concerts when I tell you to lower your voice). Thank you for always making me laugh when I feel like the whole world is collapsing in front of me. Thank you for defending me when I’m not around in front of mom and dad. Thank you for being my little brother and being my co-partner in surviving our family together.

Love always,

Your Stalking Sister