Tonight, I'm working on my Commemorative Speech assignment for my Public Speaking class. I chose to pay tribute to my brother, William.
I plan to talk about how selfless he was, how loving he was, and how he influenced me, even though he was five years younger.
My brother was (and is) an amazing person. He would give you the shirt off his back. I know that's a cliche saying, but it's true. We had a friend of his who stayed with us for a long time to escape a horrible home life, and my brother let him wear whatever he wanted after his mom refused to give him access to his own clothes.
This same friend turned around and lashed out at my brother, time and time again. He would abandon my brother in favor of "better" or "more exciting" plans...but my brother was always there to pick up the pieces. Even when this friend sent an email full of hate, my brother forgave him almost instantly, and wanted to fix things. In churches where he was persecuted-- yes, persecuted-- for being a public school kid or for not belonging to the same denomination his whole life, he still reached out to anyone and everyone, striving to make sure they were included and felt loved.
These two things affected me, even though I'm the older sibling. I tend to be more harsh, and less forgiving of people who wrong my family. He showed me what it is to be forgiving, and since his death, I've worked really hard to forgive the aforementioned friend, and those who hurt him.
I wish he could have been around for many more years, to teach me more. And to make me laugh.
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