I love my younger brother to the end of the world, and no matter what the situation, I will always be there for him. This takes me back to one night, during the middle of a raucous yet habitual school week, I listened to him practice his piano constantly for hours upon hours with my stern mother at his side, constantly ridiculing him for each little mistake he made. As the grueling practice session dragged on, the aberrations continued to mount, and with each one, my brother endured a shrill, sharp slap on the back for not paying attention. Yet he continued to persevere, something which I have taken as a lesson from him. And finally, after he had finished, or rather, when my mother was tired of ridiculing him, he was allowed to go to bed, at 11 o’clock, two hours past his normal bedtime. After he trudged off to bed from the bright lights of the piano room to the dark welcoming confines of his bedroom, I snuck off to his room where I found him silently weeping, wishing that his suffering would end. I walked over to him, comforting him and saying that I will always be there for him, supporting him, regardless of the situation, and after I said those words, he gave me a small smile, let me tuck him into his bed, snuggled up closely to his teddy bear, and fell asleep, with that small smile etched upon his innocent, 10 year-old face. It is that face that I have burned into my memory that allows me to continue fighting, long after my mind has told my body that it can no longer take this cruel life.

For all of us that have siblings, you all can understand how much I care for and love my brother. He is one of the people who understands me the most, oftentimes giving me a hand when I’m down. I find myself quite often the one in debt to him, when I should be the one helping him, since I am his elder. But either way, those feelings are mutual. We work together to defeat our opponents, whether it’s in the backyard with a pickup game of football, to airsoft, where we find ourselves mounted again difficult odds. Each time however, we persevere, and learn from each other how we can improve, and in the end, we help each other strive to be our best. And whenever we fight, we always sooner or later settle our differences.

I’m sure that all our siblings are teachers to us in many ways, but they’re also students of us as well. As the elder brother, it is my duty to create and pave the environment and path in which he can follow and hopefully find triumph at the end, proudly saying that this is what my brother taught me. However, I must also be the student when the time calls. I’ve learned to be more carefree around younger children, to be more patient with them, and most importantly, to enjoy having them around because they can remind us of the little things in life we can cherish and love.

Having a sibling is a blessing to anyone. They bring fulfillment, laughter, competition, and happiness to our lives. To anyone with a sibling: please be grateful that you were blessed with a sibling, and always love them and create lasting memories with them that you will look upon with smiles. After all, this is the fruit of the tree of bonds between siblings. They are the ones we trust and can rely upon the most.