Growing up in a rather large family, I had to learn who to trust and who not to trust when it came to “suggestions” from my older cousins. The endless amounts of jokes and pranks were common no matter the occasion. Even though I laugh now when I think of all of those times, back then, it was difficult to see the playful intent of my cousins. Back then, it was difficult to understand that they were kidding. Back then, I used to think that most of them liked taunting me more than they liked me at all. Back then, Alan was my best friend because he hardly ever taunted me at all.

Alan is one year and five days older than me and has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Most of us in our family have at least one cousin around their age and I had Alan. We were always paired together at family parties, and if you look at old photos, we were always seated together. I don’t know if it was because we were always placed together, but no matter the situation, he became my best friend rather quickly. Alan knows me better than I know myself and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to have by my side through it all.

One of my favorite memories, which is difficult to choose because we have so many together, is when he agreed to go to a Mayday Parade concert in Austin with me. He had barely listened to the band at all, but he said yes to a weekend trip that consisted of more than fifteen hours of driving with my mom, my grandma and I. Seeing Mayday Parade is always a great experience, but being able to see a band that means so much to me with my favorite person in the world made it ten times better. He is always willing to do things for me and I am forever grateful.

When we were younger, during the time of teenage angst and isolation, we would sit in the dark and talk about everything and anything. As we grew older, we would still talk to each other about everything, just with more light and less angst. Sometimes I forget he’s my cousin because he sometimes (always) feels more like my brother. I am so proud to have someone like him in my life, especially with how supportive he is with everything that I do and feel.

Thank you so much for always being there when I need someone to listen. Thank you for always being there when I need someone to talk to me about their day because I need to stop thinking about mine. Thank you for always answering when I text. Thank you for going to all of those concerts with me. Thank you for being the best cousin, best friend, and best brother anyone could hope for. Thank you.

I hope you know that I will always be here for you.