Cousins by Luke Kopco

To me, family is above all, but I'm sure we've heard that about a thousand times, so I'll do you one better: The relationships I have with my cousins are ones that will stick with me long after we've all left Sparta. To start, my cousins are triplets and are exactly one year and two days older than me, so we have been hanging out since we were babies. We have literally lived within 5 miles of each other since I was three. When there's a holiday, hanging out with them is a given, and summer is the best. Playing basketball in the either the pool or a driveway when we hang out is a family tradition. We are each other's biggest fans, whether it being going to one of their track meets, or them taking a quick peek at my basketball game when we play Pope John.
The addition of my baby sister has only brought us closer to together, and Gwendolyn, who is 11 and the same age as my younger brother, has a taken a vested interest in her especially. Every time we get together, it is so fun seeing these two huge families having fun and having 13 people in the house. Nevertheless, we always have a heck of a time, especially on road trips. Last year, my Aunt took my cousins and I to both Salem, Massachusetts and Brown University, and let me tell me tell you, those 6+ hour car rides were anything but boring.
My cousins are juniors, which means they have one full year left in Sparta before they go to college, and if you're asking if there's any possibility they don't go to college or go to community college, there isn't because they are all absolutely brilliant. Looking back on our childhoods and the experiences we've had, it's funny. We have actually gone through every part of our somewhat short lives together, and I find myself having absolutely zero regrets up to this point. I'm four years older than my next oldest sibling, so each and every day I have to be a mentor and a teacher and a role model for him. I have to bear the burden of being that shoulder to lean on. My three cousins, these three extraordinary people, are that are shoulder for me.