As we get closer to graduation, we seniors have to think about how to spend our time. We have to say goodbye to most of our friends as we are all attending different colleges and leaving some friends at CHS.

As important as it is to utilize these last few weeks with our friends, we also have some other very important people to consider: our family.

As much as I wanted to join my friends at Sweetlife Festival this past weekend, I decided it was more important to visit my brother Michael in Chicago. He has lived there for the past two years and I only get to see him on holidays since now he has a job, no longer having college breaks for weeks at a time.

My brother and I participated in many fun activities in the city; from biking around the city to the taking architectural boat tour to seeing a Second City comedy show, we did it all. We never had a dull moment, even when we sat down for an hour to relax before the next adventure my brother had planned for us.

All of these activities were amazing, especially going to the zoo and watching a polar bear swim around us, but what was most special about it was not the actual activities, but doing them with the man I’ve looked up to since I was a little girl.

My brother has always been there for me with anything I have needed. He’s always given me the best birthday presents and made family vacations a blast for me. Out of all my family members, he is also the hardest for me to say goodbye to; even at 18 years old, I still shed a tear every time I have to say farewell, even when I know I’ll be seeing him again in a few short weeks.

I chose to spend this weekend with my brother instead of partying at a concert because I never know when I might see him again after graduation. Sure, I’ll visit him and he’ll visit me, but we will both have schedules that we will always work be able to work around. I understand that he is an adult and has responsibilities, but it is still sad not seeing him all the time as I used to when we both lived at home.

It is important to take advantage of the time we have now to recognize the people who are always there for us no matter what.  Family is the one aspect of our lives that never goes away. Friends come and go, but family is forever.