I think I heard that for the first time in Lilo and Stitch. Even though she was an only child, she had a really good idea of what family is. My family is different from most. I have a mother, who is the strongest person I know. I have three older brothers, Jack, Fred, and Stephen. And one younger sister, Grace. I don't live with my dad or even know him for that matter. If he were essential to my upbringing, he'd be here. And since he wasn't, it only proved that I didn't need him. Out of sight, out of mind.
Mom- I love my mother. Ya, she's always late, she has poor sense of style, and she gets easily annoyed. I love her. No matter how many "I love yous" I give her, I don't think she knows. She's incredibly strong, too. She moved to the US when she was a teenager, had to learn English on her own, and stay after class at school just to review the material because she didn't understand it. She suffered through an abusive marriage and still found a reason to smile at the end of the day. Every time life gives her lemons, she makes one hell of a lemonade.
Jack- Jack is my oldest brother. He's 23 right now and he's the father to my nephew Elijah. When we were younger, in all honesty, I didn't really know him. He was eight years older than I and had different friends from me. In a way, I didn't see him as my brother, just a "brother" figure. Now that he moved back with his fiancee and son (my nephew), its nice to get to know him and know how proud he is of me. With everything that's going on with Fred, he's been helping my mom better than I could have ever imagined.
Fred- Fred is my older brother. I don't think I've come out and said it before. Out of all three boys, growing up (as in all of 08/96-09/11), he was always my secret favorite. People always said we looked alike (even though I didn't personally see it) and we even have a similar birthmark in the same spot. As a little kid, I used to choose him to fight my petty child arguments with neighborhood kids. We both shared a dry sense of humor and were constantly annoyed by Stephen's laziness and lack of cleanliness. I loved him greatly. Sometimes, you'd think that if you love a person enough, they'd love themselves just as much. And it wasn't the case. I think he turned to drugs because he was depressed with his life. Its not that I condone what he did ( and is still doing) but I understand. He became mean and hateful towards me slowly but surely over time. Looking back, I'm not that surprised. I'm a Straight A student, top of my class, and there's no doubt that I'll be going far. When there's more than one sibling, there's always some form of sibling rivalry, some better than others. My brothers were always jealous of me, mostly because I was the only girl (which meant I would get different gift and always have my own room) and was very good at school. I hate to sound cocky but I understand why. They were jealous and I accept that, simply because I put myself and their shoes. And when I did, I realized that I wouldn't have acted in no way different. I'm no psychologist but I think jealousy is a part of human nature. With success comes jealousy. Its a fact of life.
Stephen- I'm closest in age with him. He's only three years older than me. When we were younger, we used to fight like hell (like brother and sister). We're total opposites. He's skinny, I'm fat. He's street smart, I'm book smart. He's popular, I'm quiet. Teachers know him for his bad behavior, they know me for my good behavior. Due the past couple of months, he's changed considerably. He has a job and cares deeply about it. Theres more but in a way I'm extremely proud of him. I hope he graduates next year. I think he deserves it.
They are my brothers and I love each and every one of them. I hope Fred gets better but heaven forbid that he doesn't, I will forever love him as one of my big brothers.
Grace- Grace, as you may know, is my year old sister. She means everything to me. I knew that I wanted to become a pediatrician but I didn't know I could sub-specialize to help little preemie angels like Grace grow and thrive. Though she's extremely aggressive and can e a lot to handle sometimes, I love her dearly and wouldn't know what I'd be doing for the rest of my life without her.
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