Shared Experiences

My brother turned 16 this year. While a sibling turning 16 is an everyday occurrence around the world, the fact that he is 14 years younger than I am makes it a bit more unique and interesting, at least to me.

As he’s gotten older, we’ve been able to do more things together and have discovered quite a few shared interests. That might sound mundane, but it feels special to me. As much as I love and enjoy spending time with the rest of my family, we just don’t have a lot of overlapping interests.

It’s also something I never really expected. Being the oldest, I left home early, so my siblings spent most of their formative years without me around. My brother and I played video games and shared music occasionally over the years, but we didn’t spend much time bonding.

I also have a fairly odd collection of interests. Not in a “hipster, look how cool I am” way, but more in a “please tell me if I’m boring you to tears” way when I talk about the infill pattern in my latest 3D print. So, seeing him discover and enjoy some of the same things that I do has been really special.

Beyond just talking about shared interests, we’ve gone on adventures and experienced things together. I think this has reminded me that experiences really are what bond us. It’s one thing to sit at a computer and wax poetic about your favorite band, but it’s a whole other thing to see them live with a friend. Getting dinner along the way, falling and bruising your cheek on the sidewalk. Those are the moments that bring a smile to my face. I think they’re also the memories we’ll carry with us for the rest of our lives. We may not remember our hot take on the latest drama of 2024, but we will remember stepping in gum on the subway.

That’s a reality I lost touch with for a while. I spent way too much time watching YouTube and living in my own self-centered world.

I look forward to making many more memories and sharing these experiences with my brother. If you haven’t gone on an adventure with a friend in a while, now’s the time.