My last article that I published was about my friend group being like my brothers, well this article is about my actual brother. I'm going to be discussing some stories as well as just the awesomeness that comes with being a big brother.

My parents decided, without my consent, to give me a little brother when I was 3 and a half years old. Had they consulted me before hand I probably would have said something like "That's a pretty big responsibility for a kid that's not even 3 don't you think?". But again I was only 3 So I couldn't say anything. I was going to be a big brother whether I wanted to or not.

Then on December 14, 1998 I met the little devil, Tyler Joseph Jordan. I probably thought he looked weird, and I still do to this day, but he was my little brother and that meant I was gonna protect him forever.

So let's fast forward to the first day we brought him home from the hospital. My mom was laying on the couch recovering from being in the hospital and my dad was saying goodbye to my aunt. While all of that was going on I decided it would be a good idea to take my brother out of his crib. I walked over and grabbed him by an arm and a leg and dangled him over the crib. Meanwhile my mom sees all of this going on but can't do anything because she couldn't get up. So she was terrified, and rightfully so, when she saw my smiling face dangling her newborn son she screamed for my dad, and he came in an saved the day.

I tried telling them that 3 years old was to young to be a big brother...

But don't let the story fool you, I got better at being a big brother. I'm lucky enough to have a brother that is relatively close to my age, but when we were growing up it wasn't always that way. Right around the age that I stopped watching little kids shows was the same time that he started watching them and I went along with it. I complained the whole time, but hey nobody is perfect.

The most rewarding part about being a big brother though is getting to watch him grow up and helping him along the way. Sure we don't always get along, but we're not supposed to. We have definitely had our fair share of fights (that I won), but at the end of them we would eventually be friends again.

I don't get to tell my brother enough how proud I am of him. He's a great athlete, smart as hell, coaches little league baseball, and is just all around a great kid. I have a lot of great memories going to all of his games and trying to stop him from being so hard on himself when he made a mistake. And even though he never wanted to hear it I could tell he was thankful for the advice.

So this article is for you Tyler. I can't believe that you're becoming an adult and it kind of freaks me out that you're in your senior year, but no matter how old you are you will always be my little brother.

Yours truly,

Ryan Jordan