Everyone brags about how their little brother or sister is the best. However, I truly have the greatest little brother in the entire world. I never knew how lucky I was to have him as my little brother until I went away to college.

I remember on move-in weekend for college, I had said my goodbyes to my parents and was preparing to go to the carnival with my roommates. It was at the carnival where I looked down at my phone and saw a text message from my little brother that read “I love you Kat! I didn’t get to say goodbye to you, but I am going to miss you so much! Stay safe!”. With tears streaming down my face, I sprinted back to my dorm upset over the fact that I forgot to say goodbye. He did not go on the last Target run with my parents and I and in the excitement of moving in, it never occurred to me that I would not see him again for awhile. As I was Face-timing him in my dorm that night, I promised myself that I would text him “I love you” every morning. It might not seem like much, but I wanted to make sure that he knows that I did not forget about him.

I miss how excited he would get when he would look over and see me sitting on the sidelines at his basketball games, and the grin on his face as he lets my dog into my room in the morning. I miss how he would creep into my room in the middle of the night when he had a bad dream. I miss having him as my roommate on the nights he did not want to sleep alone and how we would laugh and joke around before we went to sleep. I forget that he isn’t a baby anymore because in my mind he will always be a little kid. I was seven when he was born which meant that he was my personal baby doll. I loved his chubby cheeks and how he would walk up to me saying "Mis! Mis!" because he loved The Nightmare Before Christmas and wanted me to turn it on for him.

My favorite memory of him was going in his room after he woke up from his nap. He would stand in his crib with this ginormous smile and would hug me as I carried him out of his room. He was the cutest baby in the entire world and I would give anything to go back in time and hold him. I miss how he was like a second shadow and mimic my every move. If I say "this is so stupid" while doing my homework, I will hear my brother yell "this is so stupid!" while he was doing his homework. When he would sleep in the spare bed in my room, if I put my phone down to go to sleep, he would too. I figured out that he would wait about two to three minutes after I did something to mimic it because he did not want me to notice. Of course, I noticed, and I would have to hide my smile whenever he did it. I never outwardly admitted to him that I noticed because it did not bother me and I knew he would stop if I pointed it out to him. It is crazy to think about how fast he has grown up, but I am so proud of the young man he has become. My dad always reminds my sisters and I how much he looks up to us, but I look up to my brother more than he knows. I admire his determination for basketball and how he spends every second practicing outside. I admire how he never wants anything to happen to his sisters and his texts reminding me to stay safe and always carry my pepper spray. I admire how he never hesitates to take off his jacket and hand it to me when I say that I am cold, and how he reminds me that he is the only man I need in my life.

I originally thought texting my little brother every morning was strictly for him to know that I haven’t forgotten about him. However, I am just as eager to get a million-heart emoji’s and an “I love you” back from him. I learned early on that my first class is right around when his school starts. For this reason, I hurry and get dressed and leave with ample time to walk to the cafeteria, get my cereal, and text him before his first class starts. The first few weeks of school he was upset that my later class on Tuesday's and Thursday's allowed me to sleep in. This caused me to text him later than usual and I would often wake up to a text from him saying “where is my good morning text?”. In order to prevent this inconvenience for him, I set an alarm on the days I don't have an early morning class. This allows me to text him just in time for him to read it before he goes off to class. I could never adequately put into words how much I love my little brother. It is important to cherish the time that you have to spend with your little sibling. As annoying as they can be, they grow up fast and soon they will have their own lives as well. I know that my life would not be the same without my little brother. Going from having three sisters in the house to being an only child would be a hard adjustment. I hope that he knows how much I love him and how much I look forward to sending him texts wishing him a wonderful day at school. Little does he know when he texts me to have a good day, it was already made the second I saw his name pop up on my screen.