When I left for university in 2014, my younger brother gave me a handshake. I was fine with it because, at the time, a handshake was appropriate as we were not that close, even though we are siblings. Years later, things are much different. In fact, the last time I went to visit him while he was at university, he actually hugged me and shed a little tear when it was time for me to leave. Now we text and FaceTime each other all the time, and I feel so fortunate to be a friend to this person who I once body slammed for the DSTV remote.
Thinking back on those times makes me cringe because I truly can’t imagine not being his number-one cheerleader. When he graduated from university, I wore a T-shirt that said Proud Sister of A First-Class Graduate. I am so excited to tell people about him and his achievements because I am very proud to be his sister.
Now on to how my brother and I built this fabulous friendship between us. I believe that we had to spend some time apart to mature into emotionally intelligent versions of ourselves. We’ve learned how to hold space for each other despite our differences. We can learn from each other because we now actively listen to one another. It also helps that we’re both Gen Zs, so we’re not shy when it comes to speaking about our feelings. We have had to reintroduce ourselves to each other now as adults, and these new versions of ourselves are much kinder than we were as children living under the same roof.
When I think about how our relationship has evolved, sometimes I am embarrassed that we spent so much time not being nice to each other when we could’ve been making fantastic memories. I’m happy we’re at this point now, and I am even more excited to grow together.
Awww… So cute! I love it