thanks little brother.

Hey guys.

So I can't believe its mid-term time for me. It feels like this first semester has flew by. I alreadyt took one of my english mid-terms & thats what I'm writing about today. Our topic was someone who changed you. Well... I chose my little brother, Scott. So here it is... I hope you like it.

            One person who has changed my life is my brother, Scott. Scott is 16 months younger than me but just looking at us you would never tell. He’s 6 foot 3 and I’m 5 foot 5. People think that he’s older because of our height difference. You would never be able to tell that my brother has Autism. This makes him different than you and me. How has that changed me you ask? Well, many things have happened to lead up to where we are today.

            When my brother and I were growing up he would always scream at random places like at a restaurant. I used to not want to go out with him because of it. People were saying, “Why can’t those people control their kid?” They didn’t know the full story on my brother. Scott didn’t start talking until he was 8 years old. I had to adjust to what people were saying and just deal with it. It hurt hearing that people were talking behind his back without even knowing him.  I also had to accept that this was my brother no matter what, and as his older sister I needed to help him in any way I could.

             As we both grew older things started to change. My dad had started the Northern Virginia Cool Cats special hockey team for kids with disabilities. That was our way of connecting and spending time with each other. People now say that he is a better hockey player than I am and in some ways I’ll admit he is. Scott has scored more goals than I ever will, but I have gotten more assist and penalty minutes than he will. With the team Scott has talked a lot more by saying hi to everyone who walks into the locker room. Every Sunday we are out there on the ice together working on hockey drills and having fun.

            One person asked me over the summer if I was preparing my brother for me to head off to college. At the time I really didn’t think of it and now it’s got me wondering. He wouldn’t understand why I was leaving. I would be 4 hours away from my little brother. What was I going to do? It is a new experience for me and him. The longest time we’ve been away from each other was a week and he really missed me. How was he going to handle me going away? To this day I don’t know what I’m going to do when I really go away to college. It’s not like I’m going to be really close so we can always see each other.

            I’m so proud of my brother because of everything he’s accomplished. Seeing how he was when we were little to how he is now it’s amazing. Scott makes me work harder in everything I do and he’s my inspiration. He’s had to overcome a lot of hurdles and without him I don’t know how I would be. He has helped me realize not to judge a book by its cover and get to know someone. Every day there is a new challenge he has to overcome and I will always be there for him.

I already got my scores back from the other teacher who looked at it. I was the ONLY one in my class to have advance pass on the mid-term.

thanks little brother. i <3 you.

peace & love,
Amanda & Scott.