Dear Little Brother,

My freshman year of college is behind me and now I am home for the summer. As I realize that I will be leaving to begin my sophomore year very soon, I would like to leave you with some words of wisdom. So you may believe that this letter to you is supposed to make mom tear up a little and for me to prove my undeniable love for you, however, you thought wrong.

Coming home after being away for nearly nine months has most certainly opened my eyes a bit and quite honestly I do not think I left for my freshman year in the right way. I should have told you these things, but they seem to have been put aside due to my excitement for starting college.

First things first, lets talk about mom. She tends to fall asleep on the couch by 9:00 p.m., am I right? Okay so listen very closely, next time she is snoring on the couch, feel free to put a blanket over her. Mom also has a tendency to be a bit forgetful, which is completely understandable since I am now learning that adulting is actually really hard. Put away the leftover pasta from dinner in the fridge, because mom will wake up the next morning mad at herself for wasting good pasta (and why would you want to waste food?!). Also, please learn to put dishes away, or at least rinse them, because like I previously said, adulting is hard and mom can’t clean every dish and remember to put the leftovers away and make it to her bed rather than crashing on the couch.

Put the electronics away. Now I know I am on my laptop right now so I may be a little hypocritical but I promise you there is so much outside of that little phone. I grew up a little differently than you, especially since I had about 100 Barbie dolls and my first phone was Dad’s old silver flip phone that I could only use for emergencies. I mean I had Tetris on the phone, but that was about the best it got. Sit outside, do some yard work, find something your good at and just keep on doing it. As I have grown up, I see the disconnection between people due to technology. Do not become one of those people …that is an order!

You may only be a young freshman in high school right now but listen to this piece of advice. Do not give in to the cute freshman girls, just don’t. Take your time; don’t feel pressured to have a girlfriend. You’re young, enjoy being single! Plus since I am away, I can’t exactly approve of these girls so I need a full biography about them before you can even hold their hand, ok?

As you grow up, you’re also going to learn something. People are actually really mean. I will never quite understand how discouraging other people can bring joy to someone’s life but surprisingly it does! So please stay away from them. Like seriously, I will kick your butt if I find out you are associating with those people. But, if for some odd reason they decide to come after my amazing brother, don’t let them control you. They are going to be persistent and think that they can hurt you, but that’s when you tell them your sister goes to Alabama so she basically knows an entire football team that will fly to Massachusetts and find those kids. Just kidding, I am not that cool but still, Roll Tide!

Alright, so maybe I will add a little sappy passage into this letter. As an older sister, I should have done better. I should have stayed more connected this past year with you because I know you have grown so much since I have left. You are growing up into an incredible guy and I want you to keep beating to your own drum (wow I sound like mom now). Buy seriously, don’t let the opinions of others force you to change who you are becoming. You are going to experience so many new things as you grow up and I hope I can add a little more guidance as you embark on this incredible journey that life offers.

Okay, now take this letter and reference it continuously. Seriously, because I don’t know how much more guidance I have inside of me. Anyways, stay away from drugs, don’t kiss girls ('cause germs) and maybe use technology once or twice to call your fabulous sister.

Sincerely,

Your sister … because I don’t know who else you thought this may have been from.