15 years is a long time. It’s a decade and a half, sometimes a lifetime. 15 is a big number when you really get down to it. It’s big lunch, a small dinner. But for me, 15 is just a number. 15 years separates me and my brother. On the surface, it seems like we would have nothing in common, but the truth is we have the world.

He’s taught me the importance of understanding self, and self worth. How to be happy even when faced with the most trying adversities. He’s shown me how to be a person that is not afraid to believe and say what they believe in. He’s given me some of the greatest loves of my life; Michael Jackson, Tupac, and my beautiful nephew just to name a few.

My brother means the world to me. Without him, I know I wouldn’t be the person that I am today because I wouldn’t have had a person to show me how to be a person.

To Justin, I love you more than time will ever be able to tell. You mean so many things to me, and without you here at school, sometimes in life I feel lost. Your smile and excitement makes me joyful and content. Knowing that I have you is the biggest blessing that Mom and Dad could have ever given me. Because of you, I know that I am whole.

When you give a life of 15 years,

And then all of a sudden change it, what do you expect?

Would your life be dependent upon this fragile new life,

Only four pounds of flesh and bones, similar to your own.

Would you up and change your habits because it was the right thing to do,

Or would you shiver in excitement because it depended on you?

Brother of mine how you’ve taught me in life,

Be the person I want to be, not afraid of consequences, take life as it comes.

Never be scared of the scars that may come, take them as battle wounds.

You help teach me how to walk, dribble a ball and talk.

You are my rock, forever and through time.

I love you, thank you, for a lifetime.