This is an admissions essay that was sent to most of the colleges I applied to. It’s a narrative about my experience being the younger sister of a brother with autism. I chose to write about my brother for a couple reasons. First, I had never sat down and really reflected over what it means to have a sibling with special needs. So I saw this as an opportunity to really try and understand our situation. Second and most importantly, and I’m very close to my brother Dan. Our futures are tightly intertwined and I wanted admissions committee to, in a sense, meet a piece of Dan. Just as college is an important part of my future, Dan is even more so. I was a bit hesitant at first to include this piece in my ePortfolio, but I think it’s a great example of the reflective writing I talk about in "How and Why I Write." Who knows, I might even do my capstone portfolio on autism. Maybe be then I’ll be able to do the subject more justice. So without further ado, here is an introduction to my relationship with my brother.