I spent a majority of my childhood crying. Crying because time outs were often, candy was limited, Barbie's weren't allowed at Dinner, and most importantly because my little brother had ruined my life.  

    Jacob was at one point my favorite person. His big blue eyes, tiny limbs, and thumb sucking habit was irresistible. Our sibling relationship was every parents dream, although, would prove to be short lived.

    The honeymoon stage of our sibling relationship demised as quickly as it began. Everything I cherished, he destroyed. It's hard to sum up an entire childhood of rivalry, but at the root of it was our differences. His personality contrasted mine to the core. He pushed me over the edge and watched me sway and struggle to grasp onto my sanity. Although, more than half of the time, his annoyances didn't go without being provoked by mine. For as many times as I've wanted to whisk him away and enjoy life without a little brother, I'm sure he's wished twice as many times for a life without a sister. We knew what made the other one writhe in childish agony, and in our attempts at sibling vengence, he made me stronger. 

    Through experience, Jake taught me how to survive. Without a brother, my interaction and understanding of people would be premature. Jake taught me that my emotional stability will be challenged daily, or sometimes even hourly, and that finding composure in moments of impulse will heal the potential headaches. He taught me that being patient will get you through most anything in life, and that you can never have too much of it. He's taught me that life is truly like a little brother; it's going to put gum in your hair, ruin your favorite shirt, and sometimes leave you cut up and bruised. And through all the turmoil, you learn to pry the glob of sugar out of your hair, find a new favorite shirt, and realize that wounds heal just as easily as they were inflicted.  

    Jake was my most difficult patient. As an aspiring nurse, Jake made me compassionate toward someone as sickly intolerable as he was. Acquiring the knowledge to become a nurse is for obvious reasons essential; but acquiring the emotional capability to cope with the profession is equally, if not more important. Countless times Jake tested the strength of my emotional stability and patience, and I know he won't be the last to do so. Jake taught me that in moments of challenge, you find compassion; compassion for the sick patient, the weary lover, the loving mother, and even the occasional, annoying little brother.