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The Globe

The student news site of Clayton High School.

The Globe

The student news site of Clayton High School.

The Globe

Student reflects over changing space of beloved siblings gone to college

The new school year has brought many changes to my life. I got my license, much to my parents’ horror, and the freedom that comes with it. I’ve begun the long struggle of trying to understand periodic trends and the shielding effect in chemistry, and crew has become my newest hobby, as I continue the endless search of finding a sport that I am decent at.

But the biggest difference this school year is the absence of my big brother, Jeremy. At the end of August my family went to Columbia University to attempt to squeeze his clothes, books and electronics into his closet-sized dorm room. My sister flew to college straight from New York, and on the plane ride back, I felt strangely lonely.

I had always had one of my siblings with me. My sister had immediately taken on the protective, motherly role, while my brother was my crazy best friend. When I was little my brother and I were inseparable, and even as we’ve grown up we’ve remained close.

When I was a few months old, I was lying on the floor across from Jeremy. He was three years old, playing with his little yellow truck, and he wanted me to play too. So, he pushed the truck at me lightly, thinking I would catch it. Much to his surprise, it hit me instead, and I burst into tears. Thinking he had hurt me, he started crying as well. In a few minutes I was fine, but Jeremy still couldn’t believe he had upset me and was devastated. He has been the same way ever since then. Whenever he has hurt me in any way, his remorse is far greater than my pain.

He used to have a little wooden flute that he carried around with him, and if he ever wanted anything, he would play a few notes on it, and I had 30 seconds to get to his side. Now, it sounds abusive, but then I thought of him as the most important person in the world. Anything he told me to do, I would.

This included being a monster-exterminator. Every time Jeremy needed to go to the bathroom I had to go in before him to check behind the shower curtain and in the bathtub for any monsters. Even now I have to stand guard outside the bathrooms of public restrooms to make sure no one comes in.

When my family went on any kind of trip, my brother and I would have to share a bed.  Jeremy would make an invisible line that I wasn’t able to cross, and although I tried, it never worked. I would wake up the next morning wrapped in all of the blankets, with my brother on the floor. My sister and he would argue over who had to share a bed with me, but she always won because “she was the oldest”. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned the meaning of personal space, but my brother will always hold it against me.

Jeremy has always been extremely creative. Since I can remember I’ve watched him build elaborate railroads, racecar tracks, Lego wonders, and highly structured fort mazes.  It takes a lot of work to build these masterpieces and I was his happy helper. But when it came to the final product, I always had to be outside a 20-foot radius, which I never thought twice about.

I have never questioned anything my big brother tells me. I trust him and know he is a great role model because he has always had time for me. From pushing trucks at me to taking me out dinner, my brother has never forgotten me. Even though home doesn’t feel quite right without him, we talk on the phone a few times a week, and of course, text daily. Maybe we won’t go on “adventures” through the backyard or play hide-and-go-seek in the dark anymore, but I know I will always have my big brother to look up to.

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The student news site of Clayton High School.
Student reflects over changing space of beloved siblings gone to college