Being the youngest or the only child makes you feel important. If you are the youngest, you are the baby, therefore everyone loves you. If you are an only child, you don't have to share or worry about who is getting the attention. When you discover that another child will be coming into your parent's lives, you feel a range of emotion. Sadness, excitement, confusion, and sometimes even jealousy are possible child reactions to becoming an older sibling. But, when you see your baby brother's face for the first time, the only emotion you can feel is bliss. You might not want to accept the fact that they are so small and that they can't do all the things that you can quite yet, but you are overwhelmed with pure excitement of this newfound love you have discovered by such a small child.
Later in life, your brother begins to be someone who pushes every button you have and then creates new one all on his own just so that he will have more to push. They make you want to punch them, but you are well aware that they will just cry and get you into trouble. When you do act out of rage and have a physical fight with your younger sibling, regardless of who initiated the altercation, you will always be to blame. Being the older sibling means you are setting an example, so you have to think before you do anything thanks to those two adorably annoying eyes that are always looking up to you.
When you get into high school or college, you start to realize that your brother was so annoying because he loves you. You realize that you also enjoy annoying him. Your brother becomes your best friend. Every year, you can not imagine getting closer or loving your brother more than you already do, yet you grow closer and love more again and again. When you see your brother starting to attend dances and drive, you wonder how you got to this point so fast. When did your chubby, nerdy brother become a tall, skinny adult? Days go by like seconds, weeks like minutes, months like hours, and years like days. You begin to have fear for what their future might hold. Will people be mean to him? will he still need his older sibling for things? Does he have everything he needs? This, in my opinion, is a small taste of what parenthood must feel like.
As we all grow older, we get busy with life, school, and work, and sometimes forget about the thing that matters the most; family. When I see my not so little brother, I see someone I helped with homework and forced to watch my favorite movies. So to all of the little brothers out there, don't forget about your big sister or brother. We might not show it, but we love you and we still want to be your best friend.
