A little over a year ago, my brother went to college. At first, I was happy. Any younger brother or sister is happy when their annoying older sibling goes away. My brother and I weren't any different. He was annoying to me, and, I'm sure, I was annoying to him. My brother and I were almost always fighting, even over stupid things like who would sit in the front seat of the car.

But now, as I look back on the times I was with my brother, I realize we had a lot of good times, too.

There's a lake about a mile from my house where he would take me for bike rides. I would be so excited to go there because I was too young to go by myself. We would ride around the bike paths. We would try to run over the pigeons, but, of course, they'd move before we got to them.

At my lunch table a few weeks ago, one of my friends was talking about how annoying her older sister was. But my friend is really lucky. Her older sister still lives at home. She can spend special times with her.

People don't realize how close they are to their brothers or sisters. When I get to see my brother (when he's home from school). I realize how much it means to have him home. The special moments we share together mean a lot more to me. This doesn't mean we don't still fight over the front seat. I don't think we'll ever stop fighting over things like that. But we're brother and sister, and I'll love him forever. c