BIG BROTHER

The eldest in our family is my brother, Steve and when my dad was describing how he saw his kids, he described Steve as poor ole Steve. In some ways I agree with my dad on that but in a lot ways I don’t. True, when it came to Steve, he had a lot of hurdles to overcome in his life but he always managed to do it. Life wasn’t easy for him but in my eyes I never saw him give up or turn away from a challenge. If anyone took the time to sit down and get to know him they would find a person who was caring, put family above anything else, and someone who had a deep inner strength.

Steve was larger than life to me, add the fact he is seven feet tall and large takes on a whole new light but his height didn’t make him large, it was the way he took on life that made him large. All through Steve’s life he was the tallest in his class, which made him stick out like a sore thumb among his peers. Tall and uncoordinated, he had to learn to fit in and I am sure that was hard for him. Growing up sports was not his forte, he would try but his height and coordination was a downfall for him. What came so easy for my other brother Tim was a struggle for Steve but Steve would not give up.

When Steve started high school he wanted to play basketball, which seem natural for someone so tall. Since he had never been on a team before he knew he was behind other kids trying out for the team so Steve knew he really had to work hard to prove he could do it. Before tryouts began Steve started to get in shape, he would run at night so no would laugh at his awkwardness. He would go to the local basketball courts and practice his shots, lay-ups, and ball handling skills. He was living and eating basketball at that time and one way or another he was going to make the team.

He did make the team and his hard work paid off, but he wasn’t a starter and for the most part he sat the bench. Steve then all through high school now made it his goal to become a starter for the team. By the time he was senior he had some colleges looking at him for their teams. Steve wasn’t a stellar player by any means but he was great player that had the basics of the game, he was consistent, and he had height, which the colleges like. Steve ended up getting a four-year scholarship to college and when he graduated he went on to play basketball in Europe.

Steve showed me that you could overcome any obstacle that life can throw at you. He overcame his awkwardness to become a formidable basketball player. But with Steve he takes that kind of approach to life in anything that he goes after. He will learn the basics of anything he wants to accomplish and then goes after it as if failure was not an option. I truly believe with him that the words no, can’t, and impossible are not in his vocabulary. He showed me that with hard work you could achieve anything you want in life. Yeah, he is larger than life to me and height has nothing to do with it, he makes me really proud to be his little sister.