It was a hot, August summer day. Life had been slowing down lately, and school was set to start soon. This day was different, however. Things around the house would never be the same, as tomorrow, my brother, Andrew, had his first day of college.

My family and I were on our way to East Lansing to drop him off at Michigan State University. We all sat in complete silence. You could have heard a pin drop. The only noises to be heard were someone’s sniffles. The sounds were probably the pounds of tears running down my mother's face.

I remembered back to this one day a few weeks ago in which my brother and I drove all around Clarkston just for the fun of it. We took the brand new red convertible Camaro and just relaxed. It was one of the best days all summer.

This car ride was completely different. Minutes felt like hours. My phone was dead, and I found myself watching the mile-markers pass by the car. The three hours I had been awake were very long, but peaceful. This changed, however, when we arrived.

We pulled onto East Shaw Lane and saw his dorm, Mcdonel Hall. According to my father, this building was one of the oldest on campus. I remember saying:

“This is the dump you’ll be living in for the next year!?” I never realized how rude that was until now. I guess I was just trying to make the car less awkward by cracking a joke. It really just made things worse. I noticed that my brother really seemed out it. As we were taking his things out of the car, I offered to throw the football around with him. He agreed, and we went to an open area and just played catch. We have always bonded through sports. Every Thanksgiving, we would just go outside and throw the pigskin for hours. We only had a few minutes this time, as we were needed to help get things out of the car. I knew that this simple act really helped lighten-up the mood.

The campus was energized. You would have thought the basketball team just won March Madness. The streets were filled with excited college kids. It was almost impossible to drive down the them . A ton of kids showed up at the same exact moment that we did.  As we walked into the dorm, an extremely strong scent of teenage boys hit me. I could taste the colon-covered college boys (the dorms were boys only).
Unpacking took hours. I couldn’t tell you how many times we visited the Meijer across the street. My mother was convinced he needed everything from a pack of gum to a year's supply of tissues. I could see my brother rolling his eyes every time she asked him if he needed anything else. I knew that this was just her way of coping with losing him. His room started to look like an actual college dorm; there were two TVs, posters covering the wall, and an already messy closet. The walls looked like someone had puked all over them.
The time finally came. We had been dwelling this all day, but we knew it had to happen. It was time to say goodbye. I debated on what to say to him. Should I say: I love you? No, that makes me look like a wimp. I'll just keep it simple. As I was hugging him goodbye, I was able to hold back the tears.

“Take care man,” I whispered. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“You too,” he responded.

I knew he was feeling the same way I was. We didn’t want to show our emotion. My dad, brother, and I were the only ones to keep our cool. Like father, like son. We waved out the window until we were out of sight. This was a classic move by my family. I am usually embarrassed by it, but this time I actually participated. Yes, we are  one of “those families”. We make a scene in public, are always loud, and take forever to say goodbye.

It wasn’t until a month later when it hit me like a slap to the face. I was driving in the car when the song “When I See You Again” came on the radio. Every time my brother and I heard this song, we had to sing from the first word to the last.  I had no one to sing with this time. In that moment, I noticed how much my brother really means to me. In the bigger picture, I realized that family is the most important thing to me. I decided to become more attached to family members. Now I do the simple things such as being kind and saying I love you to show my appreciation.

My family and I have since committed one night of the week to be “family night”. I was a little skeptical of this at first, but after my realization with my brother, I came around to liking it. No matter what happens in life, my family will always be there for me.