*EXPLETIVE*— ING GREAT.

But really. Whether you’re the eldest or one of the kids who performs the handing down of the hand-me-downs, you know that it is a pain in the patooties to get your siblings to listen to you, much less internalize any advice you give them.

Such is the case with all three of my younger rugrats (*puffs out chest at implicit assertion that I am the eldest child*), but this past week, the stars must have aligned or something, because my littlest brother sends me this text:

His name is Max, and he’s currently traveling across the country in an RV with my dad and my grandparents to drop mis abuelos off at their home in California. Which, in itself honestly, is a very instructive environment, and being surrounded by that much wisdom in a little RV for a week will do good to any young fourteen-year-old.

But I digress. This is about me and the little bugger. See, my brother has been a bit lost lately. He got addicted to the superficial pull of the middle school social gentility— in other words, social media, pubescence, and really flakey girls. My dude was essentially a popular kid, and he had fun playing the role. Didn’t take long, though, for him to realize that he wouldn’t find sustenance in that type of environment, because in his bones, he’s just like his eldest bro and his pops— nerdy, ambitious, and guilty of a propensity for voracious reading. He’s always known that, but the immediate gratification of popularity distracted him for a while.

This is where Big Brother Edan the Eldest/The Wise came in. Every time I came home from college, every time we’d Snapchat, and every time he chimed in on a FaceTime call, I’d give him the same advice: ditch the fake friends, forget about girls for a bit, and start making something tangible out of your intelligence. I told him to read more, to learn how to code online, to find a club he could find real friends in, etc. He’s so smart, and I didn’t want him to make the same mistakes I did and wait until his junior year of high school to internalize that.

But he didn’t listen. Who would? I remember middle school. Ugh. Pubescence, man. That age is a wild time.

Then he goes on the road trip and sends me the aforementioned text. Something clicked. He started my favorite book and was super influenced by it. He’s suddenly taken by the itch to make something of his life.

Highkey, not even afraid to admit, I was standing outside of Target waiting for my Uber when he texted me that, and damn, man, tears never felt so good.

Whether or not he actually takes my advice is the next step, but for now, I’m basking in the brilliant realization that I can indeed motivate my younger siblings. It’s just an amazing feeling to know that you can actually influence your family like that, that no matter how much Max and I fight and no matter how many times I have to repeat myself, my advice can trickle inside that head of his and germinate somewhere.

Oh, one more thing.

I didn't even have to say "I told you so."

That's how awesome it was.