Dear Little Brother,

I want to begin by saying how much of a pain in the butt you know you are. I remember an unbelievable amount of times where we would get into fist fights. I would always fake cry, you would actually cry, and then I would beg you not to tell mom and dad. I usually had to bribe you by saying I would give you a dollar or I would let you hit me back. I think eventually mom and dad got mad enough that they would let us fight it out. Until the time you finally grew past me and could hurt me. Aside from all of the fights, we sure did have fun. Remember the time we made our own version of Totally Kyle from The Amanda Show? You actually hurt yourself by fake falling and I think we laughed for ten minutes straight. I am beyond thankful for all of these good and bad memories that I have shared with you throughout the years.

It all started when you were born, a short year and half after me, and although I do not remember it I have seen countless videos of my excitement. I think I kissed you over a million times at the hospital and for the following few months after that. Eventually you learned how to pull my hair or do anything possible to get me out of your face.

I remember starting school with you. I was in second grade when you went to kindergarden and I think I was the most protective big sister ever. Who knew that twelve years later, we would attend the same college. At first, I was actually appalled by the idea. There was no way I was going to share my favorite place with my younger brother, so I began helping you look for schools, more importantly, any school but Bethany College. As your high school graduation approached, I’ll admit, I was hoping you would decide that Bethany was the place for you.

When you were a freshman, I never hesitated to bring you to parties with my friends and show you around campus. Now I am a senior and you are a sophomore. We still fight, and now the arguments seem to be even more ridiculous than before. I will be graduating in less than a month. Who am I going to call when I am too lazy to walk anywhere and I want you drive me and all of my friends? What am I going to do when I need to tell you about gossip, because I know you enjoy drama more than I do. And what is it going to be like to go home and not have my sidekick with me when mom and dad think it’s cool to use “teenager slang” terms?

I sure am going to miss those fights over you driving two more miles than I said you could and me forcing you to come to the library with me because I know you need to study. Most importantly, I am going to miss having my baby brother a quick walk away. Don’t ever hesitate to call me when you want to know what professor to take for a class, when girls are stupid, or even to tell me about the great things that Bethany has to offer for you. You are one of the smartest people I know so don’t take yourself for granted. You are going to do great things if you allow yourself to.

With all my love,

Your Big Sister