Happy Birthday, Sean!

On March 15th, 1996, I was blessed with my little brother, Sean. In honor of him turning 21 today, here are 21 things I love about him!

1. He is exceptionally smart and perceptive. Very little gets by him, and the last thing anyone who knows him would describe him as is naive. Learning has always come very easy to him, and he's a wealth of knowledge, much like my father.

2. He's disputatious. Now, I know it sounds strange that I love how argumentative he is, however, it is one of his best and most endearing qualities. He will argue and debate you all night if you let him. He is unrelenting when it comes to his passions and ideas, and not many people are that brave. He stands firm in his beliefs, always. He's not easily intimidated.

3. His loyalty is profound and constant. I have seen him stand by family and friends through the most difficult times. He has remained a devoted son, brother, and friend, even when the recipients of this loyalty didn't deserve it.

4. He's so funny. His humor is dark, witty, and clever.

5. He has an ardent love for nature. Ever since he was a little kid, he would disappear into the woods behind our house with our dogs and explore for hours, quickly earning the title of "Favorite Human" in our dogs' eyes.

6. He's very talented! He pretty much taught himself how to play guitar, and devoted himself to practicing for hours in our basement. It was all very impressive, even though I got really sick of hearing the same Sublime song over and over again.

7. He's incredibly sweet. He doesn't show it much, but he cares a lot about how the people around him are feeling. He's very compassionate.

8. He's a protective and loving older brother. Our little sister is 13 years younger than me, and Sean is the closest in age to her. He's spent the most time with her out of all of us, and his love for her is obvious. He would do anything for her!

9. He's the best little brother! Brian and I tortured this poor child. We were stupid kids, and he withstood relentless teasing. He has even managed to forgive us. Most importantly though, he was the cutest little kid and I had so much fun playing with him when we were little.

10. He's an excellent son. He loves and respects his parents deeply, and you can see the best of them in him.

11. He is the most like my father than anyone else in my family. He is smart like Dad, argues like Dad, works his ass off like Dad, and has the same sense of humor as Dad.

12. He has so much heart. When Sean played football, he quickly became a valuable player because of his heart and dedication. He worked so hard, and it paid off. Few things in this world has made my dad happier or prouder than to finally have a son playing football.

13. He's hard-working in everything he does. He gets up every morning and goes to work. He rarely complains. He knows what he needs to do, and he gets out there and does it. And he doesn't just show up, he always puts forth his best effort.

14. He's an extremely talented artist. He's not very public about this, but he's really, really good at drawing. I remember I was shocked when I went to his high school art show and saw his work. Even his big sister had no idea how talented he was!

15. Sean was the CUTEST child. He was a beautiful baby and toddler, and he gave us some of the best family memories because he would say and do the most adorable stuff! From his obsession with elephants, to his froggy boots, everything he did was beyond cute (sorry for being embarrassing).

16. He's respectful. Especially when it comes to his grandparents and and aunts and uncles. He will sit and talk with them for hours, about anything and everything.

17. Honesty is important to him. I've never known him to lie or deceive anyone. The truth matters to him, so you can be sure he would never mislead you.

18. He'll be friends with anyone, regardless of age, gender, or status. He accepts you as you are.

19. His sense of humor is silly and immature, much like mine.

20. He's the best damn hunter out there!

21. Finally, I love him because he's mine. I love him because he's my little brother, and I see a lot of myself in him. He is one of the greatest gifts I've ever received.

Happy Birthday, Sean!