Appreciation
Dear Olive,
For the past few months I have been silent. I’ve wanted desperately to get away from you and the rest of the family, sink into my own world and shut everyone out. When we hit the road for your pageant, allowing you and grandpa to fulfill your dream of competing in Little Miss Sunshine, I wanted to sink back into my own solitary world, and continue to hate everyone around me, including you and the family.
As we traveled on the road, my attempts to disconnect myself from the family was succeeding, but as everyone in the family began to connect in new ways; through the death of grandpa and Richard’s attempt to have him stay with us, connecting with Frank on new levels (at least for myself), the revelation of being color blind, and of course the pageant itself, forced me to realize that family, particularly ours, isn’t so bad. Not only have I been able to realize that being close and connected to our family isn’t horrible, I was also able to reveal new things about myself by being on the road not only with you, but with the family.
Part of what I realized on the road is that disciple is good when pursuing dreams, such as how you and the family were determined to get to Little Miss Sunshine, but having support and faith in yourself proves crucial as well. I believe that this realization, and embracing you and the family, transformed me into a stronger person. In addition, I realized that when it comes to you in particular, and your stunning personality, in addition to the family, I should have appreciated you more.
Olive you are amazing, and through this road trip, I as able to see that fully for the first time. You are my sister, and I love you.
Your big brother, Dwayne