My dearest little brother there are so many things I wish I could warn you about, give you advice about, and try to steer you in the right direction. But there is only so much I can help with because there are things you need to learn on your own. My advice to you varies from friends, to grades, to wrestling, the classes you should take and the ones you should stay away from, and love (even though you think I’m annoying when I talk about girls to you).

Your friends will be your friends until you do something they don’t agree with or you speak your mind and they don’t like the outcome. If you can’t be honest with your friends without them starting things, they aren’t really your friends. I have gone through the drama, I’ve gone through countless of groups and I honestly didn’t find my true blue friends until the end of my junior year. Yes we fight, yes we disagree, yes we get mad at each other; but despite all of that we make up and stick by each other’s sides. And from all of that, you were blessed with 4 other “sisters” that I know for a fact will look out for you when I can’t. Talyn, Jadyn, Abby, Grace, and I love you with all of our heart.

Now grades are THE MOST important thing in school. It defines you in Honor Roll or High Honor Roll, in the ranking of your class; it defines you to be ineligible or eligible for your sports (I’m serious you will not play if your grades are bad). But most importantly that is what colleges look at when they are reviewing you for acceptance; whether it’s a trade school or a 4-year college/ university they WILL LOOK AT YOUR GRADES!!! I know you hate it when mom, dad or I get on your back about them but it’s because we see greatness in your future. You ARE smart, and you ARE going places little brother.

You do have a gift of being a natural athlete, you are good at anything you put your mind to Football, Soccer, Baseball, and most of all wrestling. Usually, when I watch wrestling it’s the usual blood, sweat, and anger. But not when it comes to you; when you wrestle it’s like watching a ballet, everything is timed, every move is executed, and it’s just simply graceful. You make wrestling look so easy (which I know it’s not because you just HAVE to practice your new moves with me) but you are gifted. Don’t let that get to your head because it’s not all-raw talent; you have a lot of people to thank for making you the wrestler you are today (Burke and Brad Paddock, Mom and Dad, Biff, Buckey, Caprio, Brownie, Uncle Stevie, Logan, Seth, Zach Flaitz, and Christopher Graham) they all pushed you to become YOUR best. You’ve come a long way from when you began in CWC, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.

Now with your classes, I honestly highly recommend the Co-op if you want to go into construction (never in my life have I taken them but they have helped many), but you absolutely need to take Public Speaking, it’s helped me in more way than one, especially with my confidence. Another is calculus, I know you think you can’t handle it but K. Miller teaches kids until they understand, she doesn’t have a timeline and she is one of the most understanding teachers I know (other than Gloria Bowers). Don’t jump the gun when I tell you this but I also recommend Physics with Mr. Smith. It’s one of my favorite classes, and he is a good teacher, he puts all the problems into real-life situations AND when you get to the electricity subject you get to shock people!! I do NOT recommend the AP US history since colleges don’t accept that, and I don’t recommend History of Rock and Roll.

I may be saying this as an overprotective sister but trust me when I say no Central Mountain girl is worth your time, in fact, no girl is worth your time right now. They don’t deserve your brilliance, your kindness, or your loving heart. You are one in a million, and these girls are evil (sorry I’m being overprotective) but they only want the title of “Lane Porter’s girlfriend” when in reality they’re either going to annoy the living s**t out of you, or they’re going to break your heart. I don’t want you to go through what I have seen others go through. You don’t need to be wrapped up in some pointless drama because the girl wants attention. But if you do get involved with a girl that genuinely cares for you and about you then you need to treat her right and respect her and her family, but also don’t lose sight of what’s important (A.K.A. SCHOOL!!!!!). In the event of a breakup, never lose sight of yourself because, in the end, it’s her loss. It’s not your fault and you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself. I never want you to cry yourself to sleep because someone blamed everything on you. You don’t deserve that.

You are my adventure partner, Ice cream loving, wrestling all-star, gossip partner, baby brother, and bestest friend I could’ve ever asked for (Even though you annoy me 25% of the time). I still can’t believe I have to not only leave for college but also leave you to face some of the biggest struggles you have ahead of you. I want you to remember that I’m always full of advice, I’m one phone call away, and I’m always going to be your biggest fan and I’ll be the one screaming for you in the stands. I love you more little brother.

Xoxo

Ellison

P.S. You aren’t allowed to have my room when I leave