Essay 2: Brainstorming

My second essay is going to be about a picture that helps define the person that I am. The picture that does this the best is of me and my 5 year old brother on Christmas morning, 2008. I am very close with my whole family, however I have a special connection with my youngest brother, Teddy. My family went through a rough patch just before he was born, because my 10 month old brother passed away, and Teddy was the one thing in my life that held me together. Teddy was born on December 2nd, 2003, 7 weeks premature and had to stay in the hospital for almost 2 months. I was in a constant state of worry the whole time that he was in the hospital because we weren't sure when, or if he was going to be able to come home. My family spent that Christmas in the hospital with him and I truly believe that that was the day that I fell in love with him. From that day on, I have done everything that I can to be the best sister I can possibly be to him.

The picture taken on Christmas morning, 5 years later, shows me sitting on the floor in our living room in front of our Christmas tree. There are so many presents that they don't even come close to all fitting under the tree. Teddy is sitting in my lap and smiling at all of the presents and I am leaning my head down & kissing him on the cheek. We are both in our pajamas. Mine are green pajama pants and a white t-shirt that says "ho ho ho" on it, and Teddy is wearing the same shirt in red with green shorts. You can see the sliding glass door on the right and it is still dark outside. My step-dad took the picture when we weren't paying attention.

The reason that this picture means so much to me is that when you look at it you can really see what a close relationship my brother and I have. Christmas is my favorite day of the year because the whole family is truly happy no matter what else is going on in our lives. It is the one day of the year that nothing else matters except for family and that comes through in this photo.