It’s commonly talked about how parents feel when their children grow up, but no one prepared me for the heartbreak of watching my once—little brother grow into his own confident and silly person. My brother, Isaac, is 15, two years younger than I am. He is my only sibling, and despite the fact that I would have loved a little sister, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
Just like all siblings, we fight and have our differences, but that doesn’t stop us from having a tight sibling bond. We have our fair share of inside jokes, love to gang up on our parents, and spend lots of time debating whose turn it is to put the dishes away.
While I hate to admit it, Isaac is one of the smartest kids I know. His ability to remember numbers and facts about his interests is amazing. If you ever need to know anything about Formula One or cars, he’s the person to ask. He is also highly creative when it comes to LEGOs. Not only does he build sets at record speeds, but he manages to create just about anything from scratch. His current large-scale build is a racetrack complete with a food court, restaurant, and pit lanes. He pays attention to every little detail and really takes pride in his track. So much pride that the only thing I’m allowed to help with is putting flowers around the grass. Nonetheless, I make sure to cherish the time he allows me to hang out with him.
Isaac has always been pretty introverted and enjoys his time alone, but over the past few years, he has really begun coming out of his shell. He joined the trap team, found a good friend group, and has begun advocating for himself in school. He really is growing up. As a result of him growing up, the most heartbreaking moment I’ve had with him is when he asked me to stop calling him “bug” in public. This is the nickname I’ve been calling him our whole lives: Isaac Bug. I think I literally felt my heart shatter in that moment.
Even though we are close, I didn’t think my leaving for college would be so hard on him. Some days he texts me just to say hi or send me a picture of our kittens. Either way, I love getting a message or call from him, and being away has made our time together even more special. Last time I was home, the two of us went out to Sonic for dessert and got to catch up while sitting in the parking lot. I truly am so proud to be his big sister, and no matter how far apart we are, he will always be my built-in best friend.