It’s no surprise that my cousin and I are polar opposites. Our attitudes, our friends and even our appearances are different. You could not have picked out two more opposite people if you had chosen Heat Miser and Snow Miser. If it were not for us being in the same family, I honestly don’t know he would have talked to me or I would've talked to him, but even though we are like the north and south poles of a magnet, we are still best friends. He is more than my best friend; he is like a brother I never had.
If we are such polar opposites then why is he my best friend? I think there are an assortment of things that make us so close. First off, it helps that our families meet for dinner almost every Sunday. It could be because he is only two years older than me, which allows us to understand what the other person is going through. But I believe that it's our opposites that make us closer than ever. Talking to my cousin gives me perspective from someone that isn’t in my friend group. Someone that won’t talk behind my back and someone I know doesn’t have a preconception about my problems and the same goes for him. He can talk to me and get an outside opinion on problems he is facing. That’s what everybody needs.
Both me and my cousin have our ups and downs, and sometimes these ups and downs are hard to talk about with people. When these things come up, we normally turn to each other. My cousin knows everything about me and I like to believe that I know everything about him. We laugh together and we cry together. I can’t remember a time where he didn’t have my back.
My cousin can make me laugh nonstop. I can still remember the first time we discovered that our laughs were identical. We started mock laughing to test our discovery, which led to more laughter, and eventually we couldn’t stop laughing. We spent over an hour just laughing about our similar laugh. I don’t think that many people would have found that funny, but to us, it was hilarious.
Our memories are another thing that my cousin and I share. We have so many memories that make us bond. Our memories start at an early age. When we were 4 and 6-years-old, my cousin and I were standing in line for a monster truck ride at Kings Dominion. In the middle of the line, my cousin turned around and asked two girls if they would like to ride with us. The mothers of the girls laughed and said they could, in which my cousin politely said "No," and turned around. The memories don’t stop there. Our memories include flushing my underwear down the toilet, racing go karts at the beach and going out to dinner together. Now our memories consist of late night phone calls and relaxing at Grandma's while watching TV. Sometimes we like to sit around and talk about everything we have been through together. Our memories are something that keep us close, even during the rough times.
I wouldn’t know what to do without my cousin. He’s been an important person in my life and I will always be there for him. When I leave for college I’ll miss him a lot, but whenever I come home I know nothing will change between us. We will share the same laughter and we will still have things to talk about. All of our memories will stay with me as I travel through life and I am excited to create new memories with him. Whether it’s just a day at the river or we are doing something big, I know I won’t forget anything about our friendship. My cousin is my best friend because he will always be there for me.
