My Story 

When I was younger, for as long as I can remember, I had always wanted a sister;
but when I was born, I was introduced to my brother, Zak. I didn’t get paired up with
just ​any​ Zak either, I got Zakary Dauphinais: soccer maniac, tough love, one way or the
highway, Zak. As children we fought more than we laughed, even when we would wind
up having some extremely competitive yet fun soccer games in our backyard. But today
I’m going to share the life lessons he taught me in three stories; stories of how my older
brother changed the way I look at life.
Summertime in the year of 2007 or 2008, I was getting ready to go play with all
the kids in the neighborhood. Zak had just left, grabbed his bike, and petalled all the way
to “the circle” as we called a large cul de sac off of our road. I was so excited to go. I was
getting used to using my bike as my main source of transportation like my brother
always did and I was excited to see all of the neighbors who I considered my older
siblings. I strapped on my helmet, gripped both handlebars and slowly pushed off the
ground. And before I knew it, I was doing it! I was about to arrive at the circle “big-kid
style.” As I’m petaling down the road, cautiously going very slow and swerving a little, I
see Zak coming fast and furious from the circle back towards the house. I wave to 1) say
hi and 2) to show him how well I was biking, but he didn’t wave back. Instead, I saw his
eyes locked on my bike, coming right towards me. Thinking for sure that he was just
going to quickly swerve around me and that he was just trying to “get to me,” I stayed
happy and smiling while pedalling forward. This was definitely a mistake because it
wasn’t long before Zak was only 20 feet away, then 15, then 5, then--- both of our bikes
smashed into each other and I ended up on the ground under my bike, next to Zak
under his own bike. Even today I have to say that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS
TRYING TO DO. But I know for sure that it ended the great mood I was in and we were
both frustrated and teary-eyed as we picked ourselves up and our bikes. Zak and I both
had to return home to get bandaids on our knees as well as our hands. So, lesson one
that I learned from Zak was to think things through before you act upon them, and
remember that you never know what is going on in someone else’s world.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I remember always seeing Zak in the
backyard practicing soccer, especially in the fall when the season had begun. One
afternoon he was outside and I saw this as an opportunity to maybe, possibly, finally win
against him. I should’ve known by then that that was never going to happen, but I was
optimistic. So, I walked outside, acting all confident and challenged him to a soccer
game. Of course he accepted because he saw this as an opportunity to win a quick game
and get me out of his hair, but either way, I got a game so I was happy. As I was probably
down a solid 20 goals, I got this perfect opportunity to shoot while Zak was running
back from the side of the backyard, so I took it. I took a step back and prepared to kick
the ball with all my strength. It would’ve been good too; if I managed to kick the ball.
Instead, I kicked the ​ground​ with all my strength and ended up on the ground crying
with a broken ankle. Zak could have wallowed in his glory by the fact that I could no
longer play at that moment and time, but instead he ran over to me, picked me up,
walked me into the house, and called our mom without question. Lesson number two
that I learned from Zak is to stay humble, and always help others, no matter what.

The older we got, Zak and I became closer and we continuously pushed each
other to be the best version of ourselves that we could be. When I was entering high
school, he worked with me hours after hours in the backyard to be the best on the soccer
team, without anyone telling him to. In the summer that is all we would do and by the
beginning of the fall, there was no question, it was always “Come on Shay, we’re
practicing” and I followed outside. One particular evening, Zak was working on his kick
and so he made me work on mine too. He would put two soccer balls next to each other
on one end of our yard and the net on the other and he would say, “watch me” and
shoot. I was supposed to do exactly what he had done. I remember all the times he
would constantly raise the bar, and say “Okay now hit the crossbar and have it go in.” I
would watch as he effortlessly kicked the ball, hit the crossbar and went into the net.
After I would try numerous times and just couldn’t get it, he’d tell me to stop and look at
how I was kicking. He’d adjust my kick and tell me to do it again. Eventually, I always
made the shot. Zak never moved on unless I was able to do what he was capable of
doing, no matter how long it took me. Most afternoons, we would be out in the backyard
until it was dark. Many times I was amazed that watching someone kick the ball a billion
times didn’t make my brother want to scream, but he always stood there and watched,
saying only encouraging things to lift up my dead spirits when I just couldn’t seem to get
it right. Lesson three: never give up and have patience with others.

Zak is not only my hero but an amazing leader. He encourages me when I feel
defeated, and pushes me to work harder. Like leaders are supposed to do, Zak built me
up and never left me behind; he made me just as strong as he is. The lessons from each
story are a consistent part of my daily life and have made the biggest impact on me.
Through all of our ups and downs, Zak is beyond my best friend and my partner in
crime. We both have each other’s backs, and tell each other what we need to hear,
whether we want to hear it or not. Now, looking back, I can’t believe I thought I wanted
a sister, when I will always have my super cool brother, Zak.