The day that my brother left for college I waited for my parents to leave, then went in his newly empty room and cried for half an hour. Despite our fights and misunderstandings, he was the person who had the greatest impact on me growing up.
He taught me my times tables and how to make "icky-poo-whambat stew" every time it rained. He was my partner in crime as we melted Tupperware to the stove, and the person who showed me how to laugh at my own shortcomings.
When I was very young and had no one to play with he let me hang out with the other boys in the neighborhood. And again in high school, when his friends were the cute upper-classmen who wouldn't have even noticed my existence if it weren't for him, he helped me learn to be comfortable around them. As a child, he was my best friend, and today more than ever I am aware of how much that impacted my life.
Last weekend my boyfriend and I were standing around at the movie store trying to pick out a movie. He laughed when I picked up a comedy full of bathroom humor and sex jokes and asked me where on Earth I had learned to enjoy "boy movies." I smiled and said, "You can thank my brother."
