My Brother, My Mentor, My Rival

Growing up, as I learned to read and to understand the world, I always looked to my brother as a role model for how I wanted to be academically.  Thus I would always strive to be like him in my reading.  I remember many a day when I would sneak into his room and look at the books he had on his bookshelf.  They were so much more advanced than those that I had stored away in my room.  One very exciting day, my brother decided to get rid of his old books and give them to me.  Such a treasure he had bestowed upon me.  I had so many books that I had only dreamed about, with mystical names like, "The Phantom Tollbooth" and "Time Cat."

At the same time that I was idolizing my brother, I was envying him for his great knowledge.  I wanted to understand as much as he did, and the only way I assumed I could do that was to read, and so I read as much as I could.  I tried to learn as much about the world through books as I could so I could match his great intellect.