My baby brother Spencer is one of the most important people in my life. My brother and I are 10 years apart! My baby brother was born on May 22, 2009. I walked in the hospital room and I could see him being passed from one person to another. I sat in one of the hospital chairs. I could hear my stomach growling because I had not eaten any lunch that day and I could almost taste the hospital chicken my mom was eating. I knew hospital food tasted gross but I was starving. I could feel the swirlies in my stomach, they wouldn’t go away as I was waiting to hold my brother. Finally, it was my turn. I had never held a baby before, so my mom had to teach me the basics, cradling the head and putting your arm almost in a cradle position. I held my arms out and my dad gently placed the baby in my arms. I immediately melted. I could feel how soft his little head was and I could feel a full head of hair. His head was softer than a blanket and felt so delicate. His eyes were not open because they had gook in them and he was very orange because he was known as “gondos” at the time. I could not stop smiling and I was just the happiest girl on the planet on that day. On that day I had I become a big sister and from that day forward I promised to always be there for him.

After we took my baby brother home, it was a little bit of a roller coaster ride. I always wanted to be with him because he was so cute. My mom had to gradually teach me how babies are and I had to learn to be gentle. I had to learn a lot about responsibility. I had to learn how to change his diaper and get used to the smell of the stinky odor. I had to give him a tub and things like that. My mom didn't trust me because he was so little and so was I at the time. I gradually got better with him. My parents had to face a lot of struggles with the sleeping arrangements. Spencer didn't have a bedroom, so he slept in my parents room in a crib. I heard him crying intermittently throughout the night. I wanted to help my parents out when I heard him crying but I also wanted to get some sleep. As he grew older, I got better with him. I grew more responsible. I helped my mom give him tubs and I layed with him when she wanted to clean the house. I grew more responsible when my baby brother came along.

I also got very jealous of my baby brother. Before he was born, I was the baby of the family but after he was born, I wasn't the baby anymore. Before, I was used to being the center of attention and now I was anything but that. Everyone came to visit Spencer and I felt like I wasn't important. I would ask my parents to take me somewhere and they would have to take care of Spencer. I got very frustrated. Also, my friends came over and just watched him and held him, they didn’t hang out with me that much. Even though he was little. I was little too, and I wasn't very mature and got in fights with my parents because I felt like they didn't love me and care about me.Through time, I grew up and matured and learned that my parents love all of their kids the same and sometimes caring for the smaller kids comes first at times.

The fighting between my brother and I began when he was around three years old. That’s when he was walking and talking a lot. He began to steal things from my room and wanted to hangout with my friends whenever they came over. I had just cleaned my whole room once and I walked away and my phone charger was gone. I got frustrated and I got so mad at him and started fighting with him. I would yell at him and then tell my parents and that caused an even bigger fight. I would scream and say “mom, spencer took my charger!” He would say,“No, shes lying!” That made Spencer afraid he was going to get in trouble. Another big struggle is whenever my friends come over, my brother always wants to hangout with us. I feel bad because when my parents try to stop him, he gets upset and cries and that causes stress on my parents. I always feel bad for not letting him be with us, but I feel as if they’re my friends and I should be able to hangout with them alone. I realized that I should be the mature one and he is still little and I should try to have more patience with him when he doesn’t listen. I realize now that he is a lot younger than me and he hasn’t learned what the right thing to do is yet.

My brother is a big part of my life. Along with him coming into my life I have faced a mix of good and bad things. I faced some adversity. I have learned about maturity, loving, patience, and caring for others. I love my little brother so much and he has taught me how to be responsible while watching him and how to be there for him and care about him. I learned about being patient with him and doing the mature thing. I learned a lot of things based on my experience with my little brother. Even though he can be a pain half the time, I love him and he has helped me grow as a person.