Going home this weekend, I did not realize how much I truly missed by brother until I finally saw him after three seemingly long weeks of being away at college. Driving four and a half hours to return home was seriously brutal, but being able to be home and catch up with my little brother is always worth the endless hours of being stuck in traffic.

Despite my little brother not actually being so little anymore, I still see him as someone that I need to protect; even though, towering over me, he can protect himself. There was once a time when I could pick him up over my shoulder, and I will hold those memories near to my heart since it was in those moments that I knew, as his older sister, that I had to look after him.

My little brother is someone who, despite the countless hours of fighting and name-picking, I can still count on for a helping hand. He is the one that I can vent to, and vice versa, about school, girls, you name it. No matter how far away I may be, he is still always a phone call away for whenever we may be in need of a friend or a laugh.

The bond between my brother and I is stronger than just blood, for we have shared years of memories with one another, having kept each other's secrets and experienced each other's losses and injuries. Thank you for letting me do your makeup when I first started practicing, and thank you for always listening to my endless rants and corny jokes. Thank you for riding along in the car with me and rolling your eyes at me while I badly and over-exaggeratedly sing along to a song. Also, sorry for all those times I may have yelled at you, I love you all the same regardless of your teenage mood swings.

All I can say is please stop growing; I'm not sure how much more of you towering over me I can take! You're still only 13 and have so much more time to live your teenage years, may you learn from your mistakes and mine, and continue having that childlike curiosity that makes you, you. I love you kiddo, to the moon and back, always and forever.